Editing Smart shop (section)

==Legality==

===The Netherlands===
Legally, smart shops operate under a decision of the [[Hoge Raad]] (Supreme Court) that has declared that unprepared mushrooms and cacti are not considered "preparations" of the substances they contain, and are therefore not banned under the [[Opium Law|Opium Act]] or international law even if their active ingredients are.

There are some shops from the Netherlands that operate as both a smart shop and a head shop on an international level. Customers are expected to accept the responsibility to inform themselves about the local laws, import and custom regulations before ordering and to certify that the import to their country of the products ordered is legal.

As of December 1, 2008, the sale of magic mushrooms was subject to tighter control in the Netherlands.

This legal regime is markedly different from the one that applies to [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] products. Those are formally illegal under the [[Opium Law|Opium Act]] and international law, which explicitly bans the plant rather than the cannabinoids in it. Cannabis products such as marijuana and [[hashish]] can be sold and possessed only pursuant to a web of executive orders more-or-less silently assented to by parliament. The sale of [[magic mushrooms]], on the other hand, was entirely legal and subject only to the common regulation of foodstuffs by the ''Warenautoriteit'' (Commodities Authority).

===Republic of Ireland===
In the [[Republic of Ireland]], there was a sharp rise in Smart shops around the [[Celtic Tiger]] era, however, given new government legislations against psychoactive substances, Smart shops that do still operate in the Republic Of Ireland have become shops for paraphernalia and growing equipment, more comparable to a [[Head shop|Head Shop]].

===UK===
As with UK based head shops, both paraphernalia and "legal highs" are available from these stores, such as [[Salvia Divinorum]]-based products designed to simulate illegal drug highs such as those experienced through the use of amphetamine [speed], methamphetamine, and psychedelics [psilocybin]. Magic mushrooms were available until the government closed a loophole, effectively banning the sale of raw or prepared magic mushrooms in January 2006.

Since the passing of the [[Psychoactive Substances Act 2016]], the sale of any chemical substance which alters or affects mental functioning in any way is illegal. This has effectively rendered the term "smartshop" obsolete in the UK.

===Portugal===
In [[Portugal]], prior to March 2013, the drug laws were very liberal, and several smartshops were opened. A chain store, called Magic Mushroom, emerged as the market leader. Shops in Portugal still sell all type of herbal incense and plant feeders. In March 2013, the Portuguese Government enacted a law making it illegal to sell psychoactive drugs, thus ending the smartshop business in the country.<ref>[https://expresso.sapo.pt/governo-encerra-ismartshopsi=f791946 Governo encerra smartshops - Expresso.pt<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>