Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 11:20 am | By: Radical Russ
Dutch coffee shops that sell cannabis should should cater mainly for local people and not bulk-buying drugs tourists from abroad, a government commission proposed Thursday.
The commission was set up in February to advise the government in a re-evaluation of soft-drug policy, in large part due to an influx of German, French and Belgian drugs tourists in border areas.
The government should consider turning coffee shops, establishments with special licences to sell marijuana, into private members’ clubs, it recommended.
This has already been done in the southern Limburg province, which announced recently its coffee shops would in future sell soft drugs only to patrons with membership cards.
And last September, Roosendaal and Bergen-op-Zoom, two other border councils, announced in March the closure from September of all eight their coffee shops in a bid to curb the “nuisance” of 25,000 drug tourists per week.
Fortunately the coalition that is proposing this measure hasn’t the power in parliament to achieve it. Former NORML director and current editor of Marijuana News Richard Cowan tells me by email that this proposal would “go over like a lead balloon in Amsterdam.”
Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 6:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
NORML Daily Audio Stash places #8 in the iTunes Top 10 for Government & Organizations
I sincerely want to again thank everyone who is making this podcast such a success. Chris Goldstein for founding it and choosing me to take it over, Allen St. Pierre and Keith Stroup for believing in me and trusting me to work at home from 3,000 miles away, and Paul Armentano for being the Google of marijuana science.
Of course there is also Steve Bloom from Celebstoner.com, Tere Joyce rounding up guests in SoCal, Tam Lee bringing us great new independent tunes from Marijuana Music Awards (and thanks to all the musicians who donate!), Dr. Mitch Earleywine providing our Cannabis Science, and lately, Eric Brenner with the California Marijuana Report, Danny Danko with Cultivator’s Corner, and David Bienenstock with High Times Newsstand Preview. Not to mention the hundreds of activists, authors, scientists, doctors, politicians, musicians, and plain old “unicorns” we talk to in our Cannabis Conversations.
Then there are the dedicated newshawks – Mr. Spof, Dudemaster, and Justice – who track down stories from across cyberspace and always find the budly nugs amidst all the swiggity swag. (Try typing “marijuana” into Google News sometime – it’s 95% “poor shmuck got busted for a little weed” stories and 5% “really interesting news”.) Thanks also go out to Cannabis Karri (she’s my half-half sister; she has a different mom and I have a different dad) and Less Than Radical Josh (he’s my whole brother, all 6′4″ of him) who handled the music pre-Tam.
And of course, YOU!, the dedicated Stasher who hangs out in the Fresh Stash to the one-time visitor who hit here from Google News or some random hyperlink. I come from a very friendly and vibrant online community (Pam’s House Blend) that she once described as a virtual coffee house, where folks feel comfortable talking issues. Music plays in the background, it’s “community-friendly”, big news stories about our issue are discussed but also stories outside our issue are looked at from our point of view. People contribute stories, commentray, and links and we rip a few hits and discuss. Maybe we’re a virtual coffee shop, Amsterdam style.
Anyway, I noted below how we topped 100,000 hits for April (that’s one big bowl!… or one helluva bonghittin’ woman!) down below and while I was checking up on the iTunes feed, I noticed we broke the Top Ten at #8 (the Weekly News is at #22) in the Government & Organizations category of the iTunes store. We have two podcasts in the Top 25 versus President Obama having three… and he doesn’t think we’re serious about legalization.
Let’s keep growing this corner of cyberspace! I believe this summer we’ll be ready to go into full budding stage.
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 8:40 pm | By: MrSpof
At President Obama’s last minute request, the G20 Summit has reconvened in Amsterdam. Obama’s request seems tied to the surprise marijuana legalization announcement by US Attorney General Eric Holder earlier today. Obama said,
I can’t believe he did that while I was gone. I also don’t believe he is holding. AG Holder is worse than Snoop Dogg in ‘Halfbaked‘ when it comes to having his own weed.
President Obama also thought that the world class marijuana available in Amsterdam would help pave the way to a better and deeper understanding between world leaders. He also really likes french fries with mayonnaise which is a Dutch specialty. Or so he was told by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who was rebuked by him when trying to get fries off his plate. President Obama quoted from his book, Dreams of My Father, and said
It’s a tempting idea: Legalize and tax a commodity that a lot of people like, collect the revenues, and reap the budgetary benefits. In economic times like these, that might be just the formula we need to pull us out of the red. In this case, the truth does not live up to the hype.
Now how many examples of Reefer Madness do you think Dr. Sabet can fit within 600 words of newspaper type? Read on, dear Stasher, for the answer!
Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 11:35 am | By: Radical Russ
The Associated Press: Amsterdam fights marijuana crackdown
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Amsterdam will fight national efforts to crack down on marijuana cafes — arguing that the city’s establishments are so strictly regulated that it is unnecessary to comply with a government ban on having them near schools.
Mayor Job Cohen’s promise to lobby the Justice Ministry to give Amsterdam an exception came after city leaders overwhelmingly voted to challenge the issue. They argue the cafes are already so closely watched they don’t need new rules to keep children away.
The challenge comes only days after a separate national ban on psychedelic mushrooms went into effect. Amsterdam also opposed that move and has so far declined to enforce it.
The Bulldog is one of the cafes in Amsterdam that was threatened under this ban on coffee shops within 250 meters of a school. These coffee shop owners are relentless about IDing the customers who come in because they know an underaged person caught with cannabis or mushrooms in their shop would mean an end to their business. That’s the advantage of a regulated market is that there is incentive for sellers to follow the rules.
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 8:48 pm | By: Radical Russ
Dutch cities to grow their own cannabis – Telegraph
The “grow-your-own” idea has taken hold in Eindhoven, while Tilburg’s city council has said it is considering starting up a “cannabis market garden” of its own to supply local coffee shops.
Others are expected to follow suit, as the Dutch government considers nationalising soft drugs production and sales in a bid to decriminalise the industry.
Forty mayors met at the weekend, with many in favour of legalising soft drugs, whose consumption is a major tourist draw for Holland.
Amsterdam’s Lord Mayor, Job Cohen, said that he was in “full” support of the country’s cannabis-selling coffee shops, as their survival would help to keep the trade out of the hands of criminals.
However, he told The Telegraph that the Eindhoven city council’s plan to start an experiment involving the council actually growing cannabis for supply to coffee shops was going a “little too far”.
He said that he would prefer to see a form of ‘Cannabis licence’ granted to potential growers who would be carefully monitored by police.
“While I don’t agree with the idea of councillors actually growing cannabis in plots near their town halls a positive development has been that our government has now said it will take a close look at the issue of where the cannabis should come from. We could see the problem of the two doors – legal front door for customers, illegal back door for supplies – being resolved soon.”
I’m just trying to imagine mayors and city councils here in America discussing where to begin planting the municipal cannabis garden. (Well, I mean, imagine it in present-day America, not Colonial America where hemp plantation was required by law, and Post-Revolutionary America where hemp fields supplied the rope and sails for Old Ironsides, and not Pioneer America where hemp fields supplied the canvas for the covered wagons, and not WWII America where “Hemp for Victory” supplied the Greatest Generation with the hemp materials they needed to win two wars.)
Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 4:47 pm | By: Radical Russ
Amsterdam ‘cannabis cafés’ to close – Telegraph
Amsterdam Council plans to shut 43 out of the capital’s 228 popular marijuana-selling coffee shops in support of a Dutch Government bid to protect schoolchildren from drugs.
The city’s Labour Lord Mayor Job Cohen said the businesses due to close were all within an “unacceptable” 200 metres of schools.
Peter Veling, a spokesman for the Cannabis Union in the Netherlands, said the closures were unnecessary as coffee shop owners carefully monitored customer’s ages, banning schoolchildren.
“They know a school aged customer found on the premises would mean instant closure of the coffee shop.”
One of cafés due to close is The Bulldog, a popular tourist attraction that is housed in a former police headquarters, that is considered too close to a high school called the Barlaeus Gymnasium.
Margriet Bosman, the School Principal, is opposed to the ban because coffee shops are not allowed to sell cannabis to under 18 year olds.
”We don’t think it’s very useful. We actually think it’s just for show,” she told Radio Netherlands.
”Children will get their drugs if they want to anyway, and closing the shops which are quite regulated, like The Bulldog, is not a very good solution to this problem.”
Dutch schoolchildren already have far less access to and use of both cannabis and drugs precisely because you have a system of tolerated sales of small amounts of cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms. Now you’re banning mushrooms as of December 1st and closing a fifth of your cannabis cafés because they’re too close to a school? Have you seen the results we’ve gotten with laws like that? Why would you want to emulate our prohibitionist policies in any way?
RevRayGreen: I'll post a pic of me and my son....gimme a minute
Missippi Hippy: Guess what... I'm gonna be a new... ummmmm well, my pet piggie Ganja is in labor and they ain't mine in the same sense. See what your wife [...]
RevRayGreen: days they didn't talk back..or act disrespectful..
RevRayGreen: feel so lucky my son is 18 going 19 and my daughter 16 going on 17..relish the days that can't talk back
Urb Age: Congrats Spof thats awesome. My little Clara is about to hit 20 months. Im not the activist I used to be, but its made me a better man.
Urb Age: Heck I was gonna go up there, but just not feeling well this weekend..Dang it, I hate it when that happens..
RevRayGreen: wishing I was hanging at NORML cafe...
JohnH: Just a quick comment about tokin' and sperm motility....been tokin since age 14 and have 8 kids ranging in age from 30 to 9...(what can I say, I found 2 [...]
slash5city: really ..oprah 35 yr or more in the closet toker ...outed ....o my god !!
SneakerPimp: that would be huge news just imagen the headline
RevRayGreen: maybe Oprah smokes and keeps it on the DL...
SneakerPimp: and good afternoon
mr reuben: I could do without seeing Rob K. on tv. But Bruce and Eithan get a big thumbs up from me.
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Dutch government commission proposes “members only” cannabis coffee shops
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