OCTOBER 30, 2010
AMSTERDAM--Prop 19 has drawn intense interest and scrutiny among marijuana users and opponents. Using and selling marijuana is not actually legal in the Netherlands. It’s “tolerated.” Multimedia journalists Suzanne Phan and Ryan Yamamoto take a closer look at the cannabis culture there and what is and isn’t allowed in Amsterdam.
Throughout the Netherlands and all along the streets of Amsterdam, coffeeshops sell cannabis. Amsterdam’s coffeeshops don’t actually advertise that they sell marijuana. In fact, the only way to know what’s available is to go inside and ask for a menu. Inside, locals and tourists alike smoke marijuana---the flavor or form they choose.
One misconception is that marijuana is 100 percent legal in Amsterdam. That’s actually not true.
“Smoking on streets is still illegal despite what many tourists seem to believe,” said Dave Duclos, manager of the Cannabis College.
Claudia van Zanten, a spokesperson for the Police Bureau of Amsterdam explained, “By law, marijuana is illegal in the Netherlands. However, in all of the Netherlands, also in Amsterdam, we do tolerate small amounts of marijuana for someone’s private use.
Coffeeshops can sell customers up to 5 grams of marijuana per person. Coffeeshops also must check to make sure pot users are over the age of 18.
“The maximum amount is 5 grams. If a person has between 5 up to 30 grams in possession, we treat that as a summary offense,” said van Zanten. “If a person has 30 or more grams in possession, it is a criminal offense.”
The Dutch are not pro-pot explained Tour Director Aaron Guthrie. “The mood in the Netherlands is very tolerant. The Dutch are very tolerant. They are very tolerant when it comes to drugs, prostitution, euthanasia, and gay marriage,” said Guthrie.
Some argue that policy of tolerance has far from created more marijuana users.
“Since cannabis use became tolerated in Holland, the average use of the Dutch person is the lowest in Europe,” said Duclos.
Meanwhile, the Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction of the European Union stressed that cannabis use may pose a risk to physical and psychological health.
In the Netherlands, using hard drugs is illegal. But, when it comes to soft drugs like marijuana and hashish, police in Amsterdam turn a blind eye.
“It is a policy of non-enforcement they have here. They tolerate it when to comes to personal amounts and, they don’t go into coffeeshops,” said Guthrie.
American Jon Foster owns and operates The Grey Area coffeeshop in Amsterdam.
“Our name comes from the fact that shops are allowed to sell cannabis, but the supply line is in the gray area,” said Foster. “’Coffeeshops’ is a gray area. That’s the incomplete system we have here with weed being legal in the shops, but not legal to grow or buy in large quantities.”
Foster said that other countries are interested in pursing a policy like Holland’s. But, because it’s an incomplete system, other countries aren’t sure how to handle it. As the debate over marijuana rages on, sparking questions over Prop19 and what it will mean for California, Amsterdam's policy continues to evolve.
Many marijuana-selling coffeeshops in Amsterdam say they are bracing themselves for changes in store. Among those changes: keeping coffeeshops more than 250 meters from schools and streamlining the number of shops allowed to sell marijuana in the city.
By Suzanne Phan, sphan@news10.net
Twitter: @suzannephan
Facebook: SuzannePhanNews10
Amsterdam Travel Blog: www.suzryan.blogspot.com
RELATED STORY: Amsterdam’s Lucrative Cannabis Culture: Can it Work in California
Read more…
No comments:
Post a Comment