Pressure mounts on soft drugs strategy

[kiwi_farmer]

Monday 10 November 2008

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2008..._soft_drugs.php

© DutchNews.nl

 

 

The Dutch policy of turning a blind eye to the sale of small amounts of cannabis came under further pressure on Sunday when the leader of the Christian Democrats in parliament called for an outright ban.

 

Speaking at the CDA party congress, Pieter van Geel said the current policy had failed and that all the cafes where soft drugs are sold, known as coffee shops, should be shut down.

 

The CDA’s minority coalition partner ChristenUnie also supports the closure of coffee shops. Labour, the third party in the government, is opposed.

 

Van Geel’s call comes just weeks after two border towns said they planned to shut down all the coffee shops within their boundaries because of the nuisance being caused by tens of thousands of drugs tourists from Belgium, France and Germany.

 

Coffee shops

 

Erasmus University professor of criminology Henk van de Bunt says in an interview in Monday’s Trouw that he expects all the coffee shops in the country to be closed within two years.

 

The policy of turning a blind eye (gedogen) is impossible to explain, the paper quoted Van de Bunt as saying.

 

Under Dutch law, the possession of under five grammes of cannabis is tolerated, but producing and trading in soft drugs is illegal

 

‘When our soft drugs policy was being drawn up in the 1970s it was a miscalculation to think the idea of ignoring sales would ever be accepted abroad,’ the paper quoted Van de Bunt as saying.

 

Poll opposed

 

In a poll published in Monday’s AD newspaper, two-thirds of the 1,200 people questioned are opposed to ending the current policy of ignoring soft drugs sales, and 68% think growing marijuana should also be decriminalised. One third of those polled actually smoked cannabis.

 

Last month, police chief Max Daniel said in an interview with the NRC that he estimated Dutch-grown marijuana exports to total €2bn. He also warned of the growing involvement of organised crime in its production and sale.