Drug policy isn’t very well defined anywhere (as far as I know) but shrooms have an effect which is judged dangerous (to yourself but mostly to other people) because it isn’t understood very well and can in fact lead to out of character behaviour. I haven’t done shrooms (yet) but I would guess marijuana (which I am familiar with) provides a more stable state of mind. You might be different on weed but it’s not a state of mind that will confuse anyone around you, you might just as easily be a little tired.
The governments want to be sure they understand how everyone thinks so they can ensure proper behaviour. Part of this is making sure there aren’t too many substances available so society doesn’t become too complex. Another part of it is making sure the people don’t change faster than they can be predicted which might be part of why alcohol is still legal (and used frequently). Most intelligent people realise alcohol is at least as bad and probably worse than most illigal drugs.
I know the USA tried to make alchohol illigal and then Al Capone strolled in with a dinosaur or something. (What I’m trying to say is I don’t know the details on that one) Still I don’t think there are any goverments even interested in making alcohol illigal anymore. Partly due to the money they’re making off of it and partly due to the fact only drunks (people with no intention of making alcohol illigal) get elected nowadays (by the pro-alcohol voters). That might have been a little ridiculous but my point is they don’t feel like getting involved in drugs they’re not currently on and that’s how the majority of people feel.
The frustrating bit is that all of this makes sense from a democratic point of view. Democracy presumes to represent society, so the opinions of individuals who disagree are simply discarded. Alcohol is the drug of the majority and said majority has fought to protect their drug from reasonable laws. It’s survival of the meanest and your rivals are afraid of your brain on shrooms. People like me spewing about shrooms without having ever tried them might be part of the reason they’re afraid.
As a drug user I should say I understand the risks better than most people. Still we can’t scientifically predict or explain the effects of drugs so I feel inclined to say there’s a risk attached to trying any drug. This fear of the unknown doesn’t prevent the functioning of our society since we don’t NEED to know what drugs feel like (yet). At this point government officials go home and decide never to think about this issue ever again.
I’d be all for starting a society that expects more from itself but I think an EVEN BIGGER issue is the lack of diversity in societies on our planet. Once we are all the same, are we not lemmings waiting for the drop? (excuse my Dutch melodrama)