POSSIBLE PROHIBITION DUTCH CANNABIS

The Dutch Ministers of Justice and Health consider prohibiting the sales of Dutch cannabis. They think that the active component THC in the soft drug is so high that in fact it should be considered as hard rugs. And coffee shops are not allowed to sell hard drugs.

The involved Ministers decided to start a research to find out what the actual percentage of THC in Dutch cannabis is. The research should show how strong the different kinds of Dutch cannabis actually are and if it can be branded as hard drugs.

Organisations that are occupied with the use of drugs already warn the Dutch authorities and public for years that the cannabis cultivated in The Netherlands gets a lot stronger. Last year it came out that the active component THC rose from 9 percent to 15 percent in four years. The Dutch cannabis and hash get stronger because of the very professional way of indoor cultivation.

A ban on Dutch cannabis would mean that the coffee shops cannot sell the popular drug anymore. Over the last years at least half of the offered cannabis in coffee shops is from Dutch soil. The only solution would be that the illegal producers of cannabis change their way of cultivating so the soft drug gets less strong.

According to the researchers 2 to 3 percent of the adults in The Netherlands use cannabis regularly. The number of addicts is estimated in between 30- to 80 thousand. Only a small part, around 3000, seeks for professional help.

The Dutch Ministers of Justice and Health also decided to also attack the drugs tourism again. The cities on the borders and also the neighbouring countries already complain about the huge availability of soft drugs for tourists for years.

Especially the Minister of Justice already stated a few times that the drug tourism along the Dutch borders should be tackled heavily, to continue the irregular Dutch soft drugs policy in the European Union. One of his suggestions was the sales of soft drugs to Dutch citizens only. For this a special membership system should be implemented.

The change in policy is an interesting new chapter in the Dutch history of coping with drugs in society. The division between soft- and hard drugs is the essence of what is often considered as a successful example handling the use of drugs. When Dutch cannabis will be prohibited, this will mean a fundamental change in the policy. The danger is that the sales will go underground again, which means that it will be sold along with hard drugs like coke and heroine. For the rest it will be difficult to monitor the use and sales of the characteristic and famous Dutch produce. more features

Also read:
Drive in coffee shop at German border
Dutch cannabis twice as strong
The backdoor problem

March 29, 2004