Understanding the Netherlands’ marijuana policy
Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am | By: Radical Russ
Understanding the Netherlands’ marijuana policy – USATODAY.com
Cannabis is technically an illegal substance in the Netherlands, although you won’t get arrested for buying or smoking it in a coffee shop.The Dutch have adopted a policy of “gedogen,” or blind eye, to its sale and use since 1976. The government distinguished between so-called “soft” cannabis drugs and “hard” drugs such as heroin or cocaine. That’s when coffee houses sprang up to sell and let people smoke.
In 1996, the Dutch government began to crack down on cannabis cafes. It now licenses them, bans them advertising their product, prohibits sales to anyone under 18, and limits sales and possession to 5 grams a day per person. Before, people could possess up to 30 grams. Since then, the number of shops in the country has fallen by about half — to 720 in the country. Last year, shops were forced to choose between serving alcohol and cannabis. Most chose cannabis. The sales aren’t subject to tax. However, owners pay taxes on the income they make from selling it.
The government and cannabis advocates say that regulating the sale and use of soft drugs results in less hard-drug addiction.
The facts speak for themselves (references to 2001-2002):
- Percentage of citizens aged 12 and over who have ever used cannabis: US 37%, Netherlands 17%
- Percentage of citizens aged 12 and over who have used cannabis in the past month: US 5.4%, Netherlands 3%
- Percentage of citizens aged 12 and over who have ever used heroin: US 1.4%, Netherlands 0.4%
- Rate of incarceration per 100,000 residents: US 701, Netherlands 100
There are smarter ways of dealing with cannabis and hard drugs than locking people up.
Topics: coffee shops, The Netherlands
