Posted
December 14, 2004
Analysis by Richard Cowan Sponsored by
Advanced Nutrients.
It was
certainly a coincidence, but on the week of the Cannabis Cup the wire services
carried reports that Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner had announced that
access to coffee shops “could be prohibited for foreigners” – even including
other EU citizens - as part of a new European Union drugs control policy.
“That’s an idea where we should be headed… Drugs tourism should be fought,”
Donner said. Of course, this is not meant to restrict tours of breweries and
wineries!
See
My friends who know Donner
say that – like Mark Twain’s description of Wagner’s music – he is better than
he sounds. His problem is that he is a member of the Christian Democrats who
dominate the current Dutch coalition, so he has to say dumb things to keep his
backbenchers happy.
From 2002 see
The Netherlands currently
holds the rotating EU presidency, and a meeting of EU justice and interior
ministers had supposedly agreed on guidelines for setting up “an eight-year
drugs action plan.” I am sure that it will work as well as all of the
Congressional declarations that made DEAland a “drug-free” paradise many years
ago.
The AP
reported that the EU countries would “coordinate efforts to cut supplies of
soft and hard drugs, as well as demand, through prevention programs and police
enforcement.” There is a general push to “harmonize” all of the laws of the
EU countries, and most of the time this means more power for governments and
less freedom for individuals. Donner said Holland would have to “draw
consequences” from a stricter EU drugs policy.
That is
typical of prohibitionists who try to generate and then use pressure from
foreign prohibitionists as an excuse to push prohibitionist policies at home.
The Canadian prohibitionists claim that the US won’t let them legalize cannabis
– or even match the decriminalization in some of the largest states. The Dutch
prohibitionists try to use the EU for the same purposes.
There are
several problems with this proposed policy. One of the consequences of such a
policy would be to create street markets for cannabis which would also end the
“separation of the markets” for soft and hard drugs which has been the
foundation of all Dutch drugs policies.
Last year an
official paper explained, “One
of the advantages of separating the markets for different categories of drugs is
that hard drugs are rarely found in coffee shops that comply with the
regulations.”
However,
there are two other problems that Donner certainly understands. First, both
Dutch and EU laws prohibit the sort of “discrimination” that would treat
citizens of other countries differently.
Second, the
biggest problem is that the Dutch cities are not going to go along with it. In
fact, an organization of the largest Dutch cities has called for “legalization”
– meaning a regulated supply of cannabis to go to the regulated coffee shops.
As the same
government report cited above put it:
“The government is firm
in its view that policy on coffee shops must be the responsibility of the local
authorities, and acknowledges that their efforts are proving very successful.”
Giving such
autonomy to its cities is well established in Dutch history.
Prior to the
19th century, what is now the Kingdom of The Netherlands was called
the United Provinces of The Netherlands, and – much like the United States
before it became the Kingdom of DEAland, the national government did not have
much power. The cities dominated their provinces and the city of Amsterdam was
disproportionately influential because it contributed roughly half of the
national budget. Amsterdam has practiced “tolerance” for centuries, because it
has long been a major world trading and banking center, and tolerance is good
for business.
The mayor of
Amsterdam immediately made it very clear that the city was not going to try to
keep tourists out its coffee shops. Other than in the border towns, where the
problem is traffic, not cannabis, only Amsterdam has a significant number of
foreign visitors to the shops. There are around 780 coffee shops in Holland, but
half of them are in the three big cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.
About 80 per cent of municipalities, mostly small towns, do not permit coffee
shops at all, but there probably would not be enough business to support one
anyway.
There is one
other pressure group that is opposed to any crackdown on the coffee shops: the
police, prosecutors and the judges. Whereas in most of the world, “law
enforcement” lobbies fiercely against any reduction of their arbitrary power
over cannabis users and growers, Dutch law enforcement is remarkably pragmatic.
That is typically, but not uniquely, Dutch, and, unfortunately, there are
elements in the Dutch police who seem to have discovered the joys of kicking
down doors. (If the Dutch weren’t human, there would be no point in studying
their policies.)
Nonetheless,
even the Dutch prohibitionists know the numbers. The Dutch government’s own
numbers show that the use of cannabis among Dutch youth had actually declined
somewhat in recent years.
As the government’s paper put it: “Considering that cannabis use in the
Netherlands is
average for Europe, the government concludes that coffee shops do not in any
event lead to significantly higher consumption….
Table 1:
Consumption of cannabis in some EU countries, the United States and Australia
(“Recent use” means last
30 days)
Age Ever Use “Recent”
United States
14 and over
38%
10%
Australia
14
and over
33%
13%
England and Wales
16-59
29%
11%
Spain
15-65
25%
10%
France
15-65
23%
8%
Belgium (Wallonia)
18-49
22%
?
Italy
15-44
22%
6%
Netherlands
15-65
21%
6%
Ireland
18-64
20%
9%
Germany (‘West’)
18-59
19%
6%
Greece
15-65
13%
4%
Luxembourg
15-65
13%
?
Sweden
15-65
13%
1%
Finland
15-65
10%
2%
Portugal
15-65
8%
3%
Ultimately,
the biggest problem outside of Holland may be that most of the people who work
on EU drugs policy – other than the ultra-prohibitionist Swedes – think that the
Dutch policy is really better than their own, and as the above table
demonstrates, there is no downside to tolerating cannabis.
Moreover,
“heavy cannabis use” by 15 year-olds is much higher in many other EU
countries with strongly prohibitionist policies. Only a little over 4% of Dutch
male 15 year-olds are “heavy users”, which the EMCDDA defines as use on 40 or
more occasions during the past year, – compared with 6% in France and over 10%
in England.
See
http://ar2004.emcdda.eu.int/en/elements/fig06-en.html
In many
German cities, “headshops” sell cannabis under-the-counter. Berlin wants to
“legalize” cannabis. In Spain, cannabis is everywhere.
UK drugs
policy is a total disaster. It has the highest rate of all illicit drugs use of
any major European country and the highest per capita prison population in the
EU. Of course, it also has a terrible problem with public drunkenness,
tranquilizer addiction, over-the-counter drug misuse, and police racism.
See
and
and
To deal with this, the Tories want to move cannabis back to the same
classification with meth. But then, they may finish third in the May elections.
See
While the Swedes have driven
down the use of cannabis, they have serious hard drug problems. The proper
measure of the success of cannabis policies is not how many people use cannabis,
but rather how many people abuse hard drugs. Sweden has a low rate of cannabis
use, but a tragically high level of drug related deaths.
In each of the last two years, over four hundred people
died in Sweden in connection with drug abuse, whereas in The Netherlands, which
has twice the population of Sweden, Dutch drug-related deaths in 2002 totaled
only 103.
See
Of course the Dutch Central Bureau
of Statistics also reported that almost 1,800 people died in 2002 as a result of
alcohol abuse. But never mind that.
Despite all
of this, the Dutch prohibitionists still want to “square the circle.” Consider
this gem:
“With
the aims of the Dutch policy on drugs in mind, it is important to tighten up
measures against street dealing, drug tourism and cannabis cultivation, and
continue to reduce the number of coffee shops. At the
same time, the closure of coffee shops must not have the effect of boosting
cannabis sales through less acceptable channels. The government’s aim is to
drive down the number of coffee shops near schools and reduce drugs tourism and
large-scale hemp cultivation.”
Other
excerpts:
5. Coffee shop tourism
The
coffee shop policy results in a considerable amount of coffee shop tourism. This
is a problem that has led to international criticism and adversely affects our
foreign relations. The Netherlands can counter such criticism by pointing out
that coffee shop tourism disrupts public order and undermines public safety in
the border areas in particular. The Council Declaration to the Framework
Decision on illicit drug trafficking calls on all Member States of the European
Union to take measures to counter drugs tourism. The government will therefore
take firm action in partnership with the local authorities to ensure that drugs
tourism, in border areas in particular, is kept under control…
Policy
will also need to be supported by transborder police cooperation, agreements on
which are now being prepared with our two neighbours. In order to prevent trade
being diverted to uncontrolled outlets, the government will ensure that strict
action is taken against them, particularly in the border areas.
6.
Stepping up action against cultivation of cannabis
Cultivation of Nederwiet (Dutch skunkweed) is widespread, and it is becoming
increasingly commercial. What is more, criminal organisations are now involved.
Tougher action against cannabis cultivation was previously announced in the
Safety Programme of October 2002 (House of Representatives 2002-2003, 28684, no.
1) and in the letter from the Minister of Justice setting out the government’s
response to the Bovenkerk report (5222861/03/DISAD/BCD). A number of
municipalities, including Maastricht, Helmond and Eindhoven, have already taken
vigorous steps to combat large-scale hemp production. Based on their experience,
the government advocates a twin-track policy of administrative and criminal law
enforcement, with a view to using a combination of sanctions to make cultivation
as unattractive as possible…..
The penalty for large-scale hemp cultivation will, in any event, be raised to
at least five years as a result of implementation of the Framework Decision on
illicit drug trafficking.
(MarijuanaNews note: That works so well in
DEAland!)
7. Major
policy intentions
Action
plan to discourage cannabis use
Intensification of preventive activities. Specific drug prevention campaigns for
all drugs, including cannabis, will be developed targeting high-risk groups,
such as youth centre visitors, young people at youth hangouts, young people in
residential care and people with psychiatric disorders. Information about
various kinds of hard drugs will be tailored to specific groups. For example,
campaigns will be launched in night-time venues, focusing specifically on
discouraging the recreational use of Ecstasy. For the next three years, the
annual mass-media anti-drugs campaign will focus on discouraging cannabis. The
primary target group for this campaign is young people between the ages of 12
and 18. The messages put out will focus on cannabis because its use is far more
widespread among young people than use of hard drugs. A public campaign aimed at
this relatively broad target group could be effective in changing attitudes
towards cannabis and raising awareness of the risks attached to using it.
Regional institutions will also devote attention to other drugs. Information in
coffee shops will also be improved and the government aims to ensure that it
will no longer be optional to provide it.
Extending and improving the range of treatments available for cannabis
dependence. Outpatient addict care services have already performed studies of
the characteristics of problem users of cannabis. The National Drug Monitor will
report on the effectiveness of treatments for cannabis dependence, and research
will be undertaken in collaboration with Belgium, Germany, France and
Switzerland into methods of treatment. Methods that prove effective will be
implemented through the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport’s Getting Results
programme.
Increasing the scope of research.
To assist policy development, research will be undertaken into the nature,
extent and progress of problem use and consequent acute damage to health. The
government will give high priority to research into the possible links between
cannabis use and psychiatric disorders.
Action on the rising THC content of cannabis.
Given the gaps in information on the risks from stronger cannabis, the
government will prioritise new research into them. If it shows that use of
cannabis with a high THC content poses serious health risks, the government will
consider adapting its administrative and criminal law policies. If the risks are
found to be comparable to those posed by hard drugs, cannabis varieties with a
high THC content may be placed in Schedule I to the Opium Act.
Cross-border action.
The government plans to support cross-border action to tackle the problem of
drug smuggling, e.g. through the cooperation on which agreements are currently
being prepared with our two neighbours.
(MarijuanaNews
note: The Dutch border with its neighbors is completely open, and there is
really no practical way to control cross border traffic.)
Other measures.
The Public Prosecution Service guidelines on the prohibition of
advertising will be revised to include the Internet, making it easier to tackle
advertising of and/or by coffee shops that is aimed at potential foreign
customers. Consultations will also take place with border municipalities about a
provision stipulating how far coffee shops must be from the border.
Local authorities.
Local authorities will be expected to encourage and improve action under
administrative law to tackle hemp cultivation by entering into covenants with
private parties and authorities that set out agreements on their individual
roles. Central government will facilitate this.
Criminal law measures.
As part of a twin-track policy in which administrative law measures have an
important place, hemp cultivation, whether it involves just home growers or
criminal organisations, will also be tackled by means of criminal law measures.
Working on the authority of the Public Prosecution Service, the police will
initially be required to carry out the relevant investigations themselves on the
basis of regional crime analyses, but they will also be able to call in the
assistance of the national crime squad. The government will also consider the
implications of the Public Prosecution Service’s analysis for policy and
enforcement action. The Public Prosecution Service will take criminal law
measures to deal with the criminal involvement of ‘grow shops’ in the
large-scale cultivation of Nederwiet.”
The above excerpts from the Dutch government’s position
paper helps us understand why some of our Dutch friends are rather depressed and
some are taking Spanish lessons. However, most are staying put and preparing to
fight. This is a struggle in which we all have a stake and one in which
Americans and others may have more experience. We must do everything we can to
help our Dutch friends.
The Netherlands has been traumatized by two political
assassinations, and there is a populist movement that is reacting strongly to
the perceived threat to Dutch traditions of tolerance posed by Islamists,
those who use Islam as an excuse to use violence against people they don’t like.
Such fears are not groundless, but the fact is that – as in the US – there may
be an even greater threat from Christianists, those who use Christianity
as an excuse to use violence against people they don’t like. Of course, in a
secular society they have to use junk science to “justify” the violence.
There is a longstanding problem with this in Dutch
history. In 1688, when William of Orange was on his way to England to protect
Protestantism and become King William III (along with his wife who became Queen
Mary II) the Church Consistory of Amsterdam urged the city to close taverns on
Sunday, suppress prostitution, and close all the dancehalls, because “the
Fatherland and the Church are threatened with very dark clouds.”
The same government that is trying to figure out how to
teach tolerance to Moslem immigrants is practicing intolerance against the Dutch
cannabis community. Perhaps these people could also be called “Nannyists”
because they support using violence against people for “their own good.”
While Americans, Canadians and others have much to learn from our Dutch friends,
it would appear that we can also teach them something about the
counterproductive nature of the policies that seek to suppress cannabis, and
those of us in the cannabis movement must try to help our Dutch allies. It is
not just their struggle, and we owe them so much.
As for “drugs tourism” – people don’t go to Holland to
use cannabis. There is plenty of that almost everywhere, especially in DEAland,
which is the largest consumer, producer and importer of cannabis in the world.
See
No, all of those Americans and others whom Donner and the EuroNarks want to bar
from coffee shops are not there for the cannabis, they are there for the
freedom. Do they really want that to go up in smoke?
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