The Netherlands and it's soft drugs policy

[Bloodeagle]

Amsterdam's cannabis-selling coffee shops face crackdown



By Stanley Pignal
Friday, October 8, 2010; 7:08 PM

Coffee shops legally selling cannabis have been a feature of Amsterdam's streets for more than 30 years, a magnet for younger tourists and a symbol of the Dutch brand of liberal exceptionalism.
But the fragrant haze found in the city's 200 or so establishments could be dispersed under plans by the incoming government, which is looking to roll back the "tolerance policy" that has allowed such shops to operate since 1976.
Coinciding with a tightening of laws regarding prostitution - another tolerated industry - the authorities' new stance on cannabis is raising questions about whether Dutch society is moving away from laissez-faire traditions, which have included some of the earliest gay-friendly policies in Europe and the provision of free contraception to teenage girls.
Certainly the outlook for coffee shops is bleak. Among the few policies that the three parties in the new coalition government agree on is the need to reduce their numbers. The governing agreement released last week laid out plans that will force them to become members-only clubs and shut down those shops located near schools.
The coalition is also advancing the idea of prohibiting the sale of cannabis to non-Dutch residents, which amounts to a death knell for many coffee shops.
"It's a head-on attack," said Gerrit Jan ten Bloemendal, a coffee-shop owner and vice chairman of the Netherlands Cannabis Platform, an advocacy group.
The crackdown is part of a broader law-and-order drive promoted in particular by Geert Wilders, the anti-Islam protester whose far-right Freedom Party, the PVV, made the biggest gains in the June elections. Though the PVV is not formally part of the incoming coalition, it helped draft legislation as part of a deal to support the government.
The stricter stance comes after years of gradual tightening of rules governing cannabis sales and a 2007 ban on the selling of alcohol in coffee shops. Although the shops proliferated in the 1980s and early 1990s, their numbers have dropped by half in the past 15 years, from around 1,400 in 1995 to about 700 today.
"For sure, if the reforms go through it will impact business," said Maciej Truszkowski, owner of the Seville, a small, dimly lit coffee shop just off a canal. There are no displays of hemp leaves or any other sign that cannabis is for sale, in line with strict advertising rules, though multiple portraits of Bob Marley hint at the core business. Truszkowski said that if he cannot sell cannabis to foreigners, someone else will.
On a quiet weekday at lunchtime recently, a couple of locals walked in and asked for a cannabis menu. But British and American students made up most of the clientele. Truszkowski said foreigners provide half his business, a figure he thinks is much higher for coffee shops nearer Amsterdam's red-light district, a 10-minute walk away.
Rules governing the sex industry have been tightened and measures put forth to halve the size of the red-light district.

For Paul Schnabel, director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office, a government advisory board, the move reflects a growing view that the tolerance policies have not controlled the ills associated with drugs and prostitution, rather than a recasting of Dutch liberalism.
"There's a strong tendency in Dutch society to control things by allowing them. . . . We look for better alternatives to problems that we know exist anyway," he explained.
But, he added, "Dutch society is less willing to tolerate than before. Perhaps 30 years ago we were a more easy-going society."
The circumstances that led to the tolerance policies have changed in the past decade, as large-scale crime around coffee shops and the legal sex trade became more visible. In particular, the absence of legal means for coffee shops to obtain cannabis has highlighted their association with organized crime.
But the open-minded instincts that helped foster the policies are also being questioned. And it is not just the far-right opposing coffee shops. The traditional parties of power on the center-right, the Christian Democrats and the Liberal VVD, have also moved against the policies they once promoted.
"The liberal consensus that helped create those policies - that's gone now. The pragmatism has been replaced by increasingly moral politics, in a way which is reminiscent of what happened in the United States with the 'moral majority' in the 1980s," said Andre Krouwel, a political scientist at the Free University in Amsterdam.

Source (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/08/AR2010100806139.html)

[Groenewolf]

The argument that someone else will sell it to the tourists if they can not buy it legally is a bit weak. I guess that most of these tourists coming to those coffee shop mainly come for those things. So if it becomes illegal their numbers will drop. Now if combined with a stronger promotion of our art museums and historical monuments and less/no promotion of things like drugs, hedonistic parades and prostitution, it would improve the reputation of Amsterdam and by proxy the Netherlands.

[Loki]

How irrational. Why don't they ban alcohol and cigarettes instead? Far more harmful.

[Guapo]

It's about time. Far more harmful than alcohol and cigarettes.

[Bloodeagle]

The argument that someone else will sell it to the tourists if they can not buy it legally is a bit weak. I guess that most of these tourists coming to those coffee shop mainly come for those things. So if it becomes illegal their numbers will drop. Now if combined with a stronger promotion of our art museums and historical monuments and less/no promotion of things like drugs, hedonistic parades and prostitution, it would improve the reputation of Amsterdam and by proxy the Netherlands.

It seems to me as an outsider, that Amsterdam draws many different tourists for many different reasons. Cultural and recreational.

I realize that money is not everything but how much money is brought to Amsterdam by the visiting Cannabis tourists and would the great art and cultural offerings of Amsterdam be able to compete if they where the only option a tourist had while visiting?

I was once told that these coffee shops where located in the red light district with the prostitutes and other less savory aspects of Dutch culture.

I do not know what sort of crime and social subversion is associated with these coffee shops and their trade.

[Crossbow]

Coffeeshops are not necessarily located in red light districts, they are everywhere, this means that there are coffeeshops in 'normal' districts as well.
Crime related to coffeeshops can be dealing hard drugs (although not in the coffeeshops) and selling stolen goods among others. To be frank, this does not apply to all coffeeshops.

[Loki]

An answer could be that coffeeshops should clean up their act, and stop being filthy holes. The problem is not the marijuana, the problem is the image they have and that can be addressed.

[Bloodeagle]

Coffeeshops are not necessarily located in red light districts, they are everywhere, this means that there are coffeeshops in 'normal' districts as well.
Crime related to coffeeshops can be dealing hard drugs (although not in the coffeeshops) and selling stolen goods among others. To be frank, this does not apply to all coffeeshops.

I suppose the only way that hard drugs could be eliminated in the Netherlands, would be through the unrestricted use of execution and brutality.
The flip side to this coin is the availability of soft drugs which in theory keeps the real poisons from the casual recreational drug user.

The cannabis industry appears to be an industry started and ran by entrepreneurial Dutch citizens.

One thing is for sure is that this phenomenon did occur in a nation with lax soft drug laws and technically superior agricultural practice!

Amsterdam style coffee shops and cannabis culture have spread through many other nations in mimic fashion. :)

[Crossbow]

It all started in the 19(50-)60's, when cannabis (and LSD) was/were first used by students and hipsters. Initially they were a small, identificable group, but from that period onwards, subculture has been established and recognized gradually, and became more widespread. In those early years, people still could be incarcerated for up to two years or so for the possession of very small amounts of soft drugs.
Maybe the use of hallucinogenic drugs was relatively innocent, and considered something mind expanding and creativity stimulating.
However, in the beginning of the 1970's heroin was introduced in the Netherlands, and it caused organized crime. The times of fun and playful views on drug experimenting and consciousness has been dissappearing eversince.
A lot of today's consumers do not use cannabis or other drugs out of curiosity or because they want to have a 'spiritual' experience; it's just another habit like drinking beer, and having some fun, or getting a kick.

[la bombe]

This has been happening for quite awhile now, hasn't it? I remember reading about this and the closure of many windows in the Red Light District long ago.

From what I understand, the Netherlands has become one of the major epicenters of the drug trafficking trade in Europe thanks to their policies. They also have a huge problem with human trafficking and other organized crime rings, and I believe that's the reason behind the crackdown on coffee shops and prostititution. Dutch members, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Crossbow]

Yes, you're probably right, all these liberal policies have put the Netherlands in the leading position of a drug trafficking country, and a lot of other compromising activities. This is also due to extreme low punishments. In other words: do as you please, you won't suffer serious consequences, moreover feel free to do it again.
These views originate from the idea, that prohibiting only will cause more criminality, but instead they have made criminality a lot easier for those involved, by lowering the threshold.

[Bloodeagle]

I found this interesting!

About 1,500 of the 6,000 hard drug users are of Dutch origin, 1500 are from Surinam, the Netherlands Antilles and Morocco, and about 3,000 are from other countries in Europe, mainly Germany, Italy and England.
Source (http://www.drugtext.org/count/nl/adup951.html)

[Crossbow]

I found this interesting!

The text dates from 1995. I read that heroin for instance isn't very popular anymore. I guess ecstasy, MDMA and similar substances replaced it. So we could conclude that being a heroin junkie is no longer fashionable.

[Óttar]

I don't see how legal cannabis necessarily conflicts with right-wing or moderate political ideology. Homosexuality too for that matter.

Imagine a gay-friendly, cannabis tolerant right wing party. That would be revolutionary.

[Falkata]

You can´t beat us!
Galician Power! :thumbs up




"Despite these measures, the north-western Galicia region remains the top entry point for cocaine into Europe, the BBC's Katya Adler reports."

"More cocaine is seized here in Spain than in any other country except Colombia and the US - about 44 tonnes last year alone. But that is a drop in the ocean if you think how much lands on Galician soil."

"On the whole though, Galicians show little sense of urgency. In the run-up to the recent regional election, the drug-trafficking issue was virtually ignored.

According to Xaquin Fernandez, a Socialist Party MP, Galicians have "other priorities" - especially jobs. "


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4743451.stm

[The Lawspeaker]

I found this interesting!
My solution is this: every country in Europe legalises all drugs and kicks out all non-national drug users and puts all IV-drug users in confinement for HI, hepatitits (etc) testing and if found to be infected: put them somewhere safe. In that way the real hard drug problems are solved and the market can take care of the production (so yes: then quality drugs and being produced and sold here in Europe- really smashing up the druglords in the process) and the problems with drug users will plummet as it will be readily available and cheaper (one could order those apothecaries selling it those note down the names and addresses of those using it) and if you tax it with a excise tax or VAT the care for addicts, needle- exchange points and awareness campaigns for young people can be paid for by the users themselves.

In this way your hobo's will stop plaguing us as we can still keep the power of the government down and it will diminish crime.


And while you're at it: do the same thing with prostitution.

[Fortis in Arduis]

They have a tacky image and that is the problem.

They need to move upmarket. If bars can, so can coffeeshops.

Surely there must be an example of a nice coffee shop.

[The Lawspeaker]

They have a tacky image and that is the problem.

They need to move upmarket. If bars can, so can coffeeshops.

Surely there must be an example of a nice coffee shop.
Agreed. If a coffeeshop would be a nice yet expensive lounge where you could hire a bong and drink fine liquors, the best teas or coffee's and smoke fine cannabis or hash while sitting on a nice cushion a couple of meters from a nice little fountain to ease your soul. I think that the experience would be amazing and worth paying for.

I'd think I would certainly give it a try and there is no shame in admitting it. The biggest problem of coffeeshops are the kind of people that usually attend them and that's why I think that bigger pubs should also sell cannabis.

Imagine a place like this with gentlemen rather then that scum that attend those coffeeshops today:

http://www.thehospitalityclub.nl/Images/lounge3.jpg

http://www.cityinn.com/wmslib/London_Gallery/MillbankLounge.jpg

[Atlas]

Groen is probably right, most tourists from almost everywhere hits the Netherlands to smoke a good joint legally in front of cops, how enjoyable ! So if it's about to be banned, they won't come anymore, what will be the point travelling hundreds kilometers to buy weed like in your neighbhorood's local dealer? I've never been to the Netherlands but would love to try that for once.

A.C.A.B ;)

[The Lawspeaker]

Dutch weed only for the Dutch (http://www.rnw.nl/english/video/dutch-weed-only-dutch)

The free availability of hash and marijuana attracts a lot of tourists to the Netherlands, but the new Dutch government has plans to prevent them from buying weed. The politicians claim dope-smoking tourists are responsible for higher levels of crime and other social aggravations.

The government wants 'coffee shops' - where cannabis is sold - to become private clubs, only accessible to adults residing in the Netherlands. The coffee shop owners suspect that a ban on tourists may be a violation of European law.

For now, foreign tourists are free to buy weed in Amsterdam. Or as one grinning tourist put it: "It's nice to be here because you are free to do what you want, without restriction. That's something you don't have in other places."

(article contains a video)

[The Lawspeaker]

"shakes head"

Won't work. It will only drive those "tourists" to street sellers and give us even more trouble. No I think that Europe should get it's head out of his arse for once and legalise it. Just give it to the market and put a VAT plus excise tax on it (that will be put into prevention and rehabilitation programs) and then we can focus on crime issues that actually matter and damn it would be a nice little earner for both the market and the treasury in all countries involved.

Talk about killing two birds with one stone. :thumbs up

[Grumpy Cat]

It's settled, I need to become Dutch. :D

[The Lawspeaker]

It's settled, I need to become Dutch. :D
Tja... er zijn nog enkele miljoenen wachtenden voor u... :wink
(Ah well.. there are a couple of million people waiting in that line as well)

[Grumpy Cat]

Tja... er zijn nog enkele miljoenen wachtenden voor u... :wink
(Ah well.. there are a couple of million people waiting in that line as well)

If you're referring to Muslims in the immigration queue, then I'm different, because I'd actually make an effort to become Dutch if I moved there.

Of course, I'd remind my children that they have Acadian blood in their veins, but they'd be Dutch... I wouldn't even let them sew a Canadian flag on their backpack.

[The Lawspeaker]

If you're referring to Muslims in the immigration queue, then I'm different, because I'd actually make an effort to become Dutch if I moved there.

Of course, I'd remind my children that they have Acadian blood in their veins, but they'd be Dutch... I wouldn't even let them sew a Canadian flag on their backpack.
:D I appreciate that but I think that unless you have a Dutch husband you might just as well stay there and try to make sure that Canadian provinces legalise (or at least decriminalise) cannabis and thus make it available to the market.

We're a bit full here I am afraid. :)

[poiuytrewq0987]

Salvia > Cannabis

[Groenewolf]

[FONT="Georgia"]"shakes head"

Won't work. It will only drive those "tourists" to street sellers and give us even more trouble.

Of course presuming those "tourists" will still come :coffee: .

[The Lawspeaker]

Of course presuming those "tourists" will still come :coffee: .
Let's hope they won't but have no illusions: in most countries it's either illegal or barely decriminalised and it will take some time before the news reaches the U.S..

[Grumpy Cat]

:D I appreciate that but I think that unless you have a Dutch husband you might just as well stay there and try to make sure that Canadian provinces legalise (or at least decriminalise) cannabis and thus make it available to the market.

We're a bit full here I am afraid. :)


Weed has been decriminalized here (as long as it's for personal use), but not legalized.

Anyways, I wouldn't move to the Netherlands unless I had a Dutch husband. I don't think I'd be able to handle the stress of living in a culture I know very little about alone. It would be too hard for me to integrate because I am quite shy IRL, so I'd need some help. Dutch boys are hot, though. :embarrassed:

[SwordoftheVistula]

The coffee shop owners suspect that a ban on tourists may be a violation of European law.

Pretty sure that banning other EU citizens from it while allowing it for Dutch citizens would violate EU laws. I think they could ban non-EU citizens from it though.

[The Lawspeaker]

Weed has been decriminalized here (as long as it's for personal use), but not legalized.

Anyways, I wouldn't move to the Netherlands unless I had a Dutch husband. I don't think I'd be able to handle the stress of living in a culture I know very little about alone. It would be too hard for me to integrate because I am quite shy IRL, so I'd need some help. Dutch boys are hot, though. :embarrassed:
Well. It wouldn't be too difficult to integrate here though that's for sure. Learn the language thoroughly and read a bit about Dutch culture and etiquette and the rest would show itself.

And.. there are plenty of Dutch in Canada btw so..

[Don]

Pretty sure that banning other EU citizens from it while allowing it for Dutch citizens would violate EU laws. I think they could ban non-EU citizens from it though.

I think that if we follow that line, in Spain we could ban the sell of alcohol to non spaniards too...

Any European can imagine the consequences.

[The Lawspeaker]

I think that if we follow that line, in Spain we could ban the sell of alcohol to non spaniards too...

Any European can imagine the consequences.
Bye bye tourism.. :D

[Grumpy Cat]

Well. It wouldn't be too difficult to integrate here though that's for sure. Learn the language thoroughly and read a bit about Dutch culture and etiquette and the rest would show itself.

And.. there are plenty of Dutch in Canada btw so..

Yeah I know. I live in the Canadian city with the highest proportion of Dutch immigrants. You should have seen the place during the World Cup.

The problem is I am shy. I'm not even integrated here and I just moved to the next Canadian province over. I don't get out much because I don't have many friends here but you have to go out to make friends... It's a catch 22.

Actually the easiest place to make new friends to me is the US because Americans will engage me first.

[Don]

Bye bye tourism.. :D

http://imagenes.lavanguardia.es/lavanguardia/img/20101015/FL16102010.JPG_lite0.jpg

Well, at least the one of the lowest quality: bands of drunk and "balconeros" teenagers. A shame for their countries and a headache for us.

That picture is from one of the most sold newspapers here and that claim is shared by most of the locals.

[Crossbow]

If you're referring to Muslims in the immigration queue, then I'm different, because I'd actually make an effort to become Dutch if I moved there.

Of course, I'd remind my children that they have Acadian blood in their veins, but they'd be Dutch... I wouldn't even let them sew a Canadian flag on their backpack.

A Canadian flag would not be the problem, questions would arise when your children walked around with a Dutch flag on their clothes or backpack, it might be offending to immigrant (muslim...) children! This is no joke, it already happened that kids were no longer allowed to have Dutch flag symbols on their belongings. Hopefully this will be past tense, things are changing a bit.

[007]

It's settled, I need to become Dutch.

Wouldn't it be easier just to move to Vancouver?

[Loki]

This is a knee-jerk reaction. Much rather, they should ban sex in Holland to foreigners. Then that filthy red light district in Amsterdam would be cleaned up. Prostitution is a far bigger problem in Netherlands than cannabis smoking.

[The Lawspeaker]

This is a knee-jerk reaction. Much rather, they should ban sex in Holland to foreigners. Then that filthy red light district in Amsterdam would be cleaned up. Prostitution is a far bigger problem in Netherlands than cannabis smoking.
Nah they should unionise that work force and ban all foreign prostitutes and liberate them from those smugglers (using excessive police force in order to set an example, killing at least 20 of those gangsters) and deport them to their home countries.

[The Lawspeaker]

Drugsrunners: Leve de wietpas

Het was deze week feest bij mij om de hoek. De drugsrunners op hun vaste hangplek konden hun geluk niet op. Ze vierden de invoering van de wietpas als een werknemer die ongevraagd zijn loon verdubbeld ziet. En zo is het ook. Deze ondernemers gaan nog meer verdienen, ze kunnen hun zwarte VW-Golfjes inruilen voor een BMW. Met dank aan die deftige burgemeester/minister met zijn bariton.

De hangjongeren moeten hun team uitbreiden. Er zullen nog meer auto’s met een Frans of Belgisch kenteken deze kant opkomen. En dat betekent meer klandizie. Zodra ze zo’n auto spotten, dan scheuren ze er achter aan. Soms met het Golfje, maar meestel op de (zwarte) Vespa-scooter. Soms vangen ze bot en jagen ze onschuldige toeristen de stuipen op het lijf. Van drugsrunners hebben deze Fransen nog nooit gehoord. Ze begrijpen niet waarom die jongens op hun scooters om hun auto heen cirkelen.

Maar vaak hebben de drugrunners beet. Ze treffen dan hunkerende Fransen, op zoek naar harddrugs, meestal coke. De scootertjes nemen de bestelling op, Een half uurtje later keren ze terug, een pakketje wordt geruild voor een stapeltje euro’s. Zo gaat dat dag in, dag uit.

Maar nu is het feest. De Fransen/Belgen mogen de coffeeshops niet meer binnen. Ze hebben geen wietpas. De scootertjes wel. Al die buitenlandse jongens die hier hun joint in de coffeeshops kochten, moeten nu bij de hangjongeren bij mij om de hoek aankloppen. De drugrunners hebben er een markt bij: die van de softdrugs. Een grote markt.


Bron: vandaagenmorgen.nl (http://www.vandaagenmorgen.nl/columns/dirk-mellema/779-drugsrunners-leve-de-wietpas.html) (19 december 2010)

[The Lawspeaker]

GroenLinks Amsterdam: legaliseer gebruik harddrugs

GroenLinks Amsterdam wil het gebruik van harddrugs als xtc, lsd of cocaïne legaliseren. De partij wil dat drugsgebruikers niet langer worden gecriminaliseerd, zo liet ze dinsdag weten. Daarom stelt de fractie voor om het verbod op het gebruik van harddrugs uit de gemeentelijke verordening te halen.

De landelijke Opiumwet verbiedt productie, bezit en verkoop van harddrugs, maar niet het gebruik ervan. Dat heeft de gemeente Amsterdam zelf verboden door het expliciet op te nemen in de verordening. Volgens GroenLinks werkt het strafbaar stellen van het gebruik van harddrugs niet.

Donderdag vergadert de gemeenteraad over de verordening. Partijen kunnen dan aangeven welke onderdelen ze willen wijzigen. GroenLinks wil aan de verordening toevoegen dat het verboden wordt om overlast te veroorzaken door het gebruik van harddrugs, net als bijvoorbeeld bij alcoholoverlast.

'Een rustige drugsgebruiker levert geen overlast op, is geen misdadiger en verdient dan ook geen straf', zei een woordvoerder van de partij. 'De politiecapaciteit die nu wordt ingezet om drugsgebruikers aan te pakken, kunnen we veel beter inzetten.'



De plezierdokter

Volgens hem voorkom je zo bovendien grotere uitwassen. 'Vanwege het zerotolerancebeleid neemt bijvoorbeeld het aantal feestgangers toe dat thuis al grote hoeveelheden harddrugs tot zich neemt, in plaats van verspreid over de avond op het feest zelf. Dat brengt ernstige gezondheidsrisico's met zich mee.'

GroenLinks Amsterdam meent dat harddrugs 'niet beter of slechter zijn' dan veel medicijnen. 'En medicijnen verstrekken we ook via een apotheek of dokter. Wat GroenLinks betreft, komt er in de toekomst een plezierdokter. Als je een keer een pilletje wil hebben voor je plezier, dan ga je daar naartoe en krijg je goede voorlichting.'


Bron: Volkskrant (http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/2893424/2011/09/06/GroenLinks-Amsterdam-legaliseer-gebruik-harddrugs.dhtml) (6 september 2011)





GroenLinks: legaliseer gebruik harddrugs

AMSTERDAM - GroenLinks Amsterdam wil het gebruik van harddrugs als xtc, lsd of cocaïne legaliseren. De partij wil dat drugsgebruikers niet langer worden gecriminaliseerd, zo liet ze dinsdag weten. Daarom stelt de fractie voor om het verbod op het gebruik van harddrugs uit de gemeentelijke verordening te halen.

De landelijke Opiumwet verbiedt productie, bezit en verkoop van harddrugs, maar niet het gebruik ervan. Dat heeft de gemeente Amsterdam zelf verboden door het expliciet op te nemen in de verordening. Volgens GroenLinks werkt het strafbaar stellen van het gebruik van harddrugs niet.



Overlast

Donderdag vergadert de gemeenteraad over de verordening. Partijen kunnen dan aangeven welke onderdelen ze willen wijzigen. GroenLinks wil aan de verordening toevoegen dat het verboden wordt om overlast te veroorzaken door het gebruik van harddrugs, net als bijvoorbeeld bij alcoholoverlast.

„Een rustige drugsgebruiker levert geen overlast op, is geen misdadiger en verdient dan ook geen straf”, zei een woordvoerder van de partij. „De politiecapaciteit die nu wordt ingezet om drugsgebruikers aan te pakken, kunnen we veel beter inzetten.”



Uitwassen

Volgens hem voorkom je zo bovendien grotere uitwassen. „Vanwege het zerotolerancebeleid neemt bijvoorbeeld het aantal feestgangers toe dat thuis al grote hoeveelheden harddrugs tot zich neemt, in plaats van verspreid over de avond op het feest zelf. Dat brengt ernstige gezondheidsrisico's met zich mee.”


Bron: De Stentor (http://www.destentor.nl/nieuws/algemeen/binnenland/9429125/GroenLinks-legaliseer-gebruik-harddrugs.ece) (6 september 2011)



This is a Dutch issue --- foreigners stay out.

[The Lawspeaker]

Ik weet het niet.... enerzijds kunnen we zeggen dat de War on Drugs volkomen mislukt is en we weten dat die domme Amerikanen en die stommere Fransen er graag mee door zouden gaan. Ik zou zeggen: laat ze hun eigen belastingcenten maar over de balk gooien.

Anderzijds ben ik bang dat een legalisering de misdaad niet stopt omdat de handel vandaag de dag door dit krankzinnige beleid van de afgelopen decennia door de mafia wordt beheerst en die zullen het niet zomaar willen opgeven tenzij de prijs omlaag kan worden gebracht. Ik stel voor om stapsgewijs tot een liberalisering te komen waarbij er dus ook door bedrijven een cocaïnefabriek (zoals we die ooit in Nederland hadden) wordt opgezet. Die moeten dan maar op een redelijk ethische manier gebieden opkopen in bijvoorbeeld Indonesië of Suriname voor de productie van de grondstoffen. Ook de productie van andere drugs kan bijvoorbeeld met het verlenen van licensies aan producenten worden beheerst.

Het zou natuurlijk mogenlijk moeten zijn de drugs OF bij een of andere drugswinkel aan te schaffen (waar ik geen voorstander van ben) OF bij een apotheek en je zou dan cannabis (en dus ook hashish) compleet vrij moeten geven zodat zo'n beetje elke boer met een kas die troep kan verbouwen en het kan gewoon, bij wijze van spreken, in elk café worden verkocht. En indien je zelf een veilige electriciteitsvoorziening kan aanleggen zou je het in theorie nog thuis kunnen verbouwen maar laten we dat laatste toch maar niet doen.

[microrobert]

Cannabisteelt brengt veel meer op dan gedacht

De opbrengst van een cannabisplantage ligt veel hoger dan gedacht. Daardoor kan de rechter betrapte telers financieel zwaarder bestraffen.

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=GH63IB6KD

[HamshenaHay]

Ze moeten het legaliseren en er klaar mee zijn!

[The Lawspeaker]

Ze moeten het legaliseren en er klaar mee zijn!
Precies ! En als het gelegaliseerd zou worden kan er ook nog eens wat accijns en btw op worden geheven en kunnen er vergunningen worden verstrekt aan boeren en tuinders om het te verbouwen.