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| Go To Holland Before It's Too Late |
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Posted by CN Staff on May 17, 2002 at 11:14:29 PT By Pete Brady Source: Cannabis Culture 
In earlier articles published on our website in the last few weeks, I advised CC's friends to visit Holland this summer to enjoy its cannabis shops, culture, ganja tourism cruises, hot babe beaches, and European charm.Now, my travel encouragements have taken on an urgency that I would never have anticipated. If you want to enjoy the famous Dutch policy that allows marijuana coffee shops, you better go to Holland soon, because Dutch voters just elected a right-wing government that has vowed to shut down all marijuana coffee shops as quickly as possible. I first heard the bad news from legendary cannabis campaigner Nol Van Schaik. Nol has had a very exciting year, openly defying the British government by opening a pot shop in England, making savyy pro-pot appearances on international television, and staving off the wiles of a greedy developer to open his esteemed "Willie Wortels" coffee shop in a new location in the town of Haarlem, Holland just outside Amsterdam where Van Schaik also owns two other coffee shops and the "Global Hemp Museum." Van Schaik today predicted that he might have to "go to the barricades" to defend the Dutch marijuana industry from 46-year-old Jan Peter Balkenende, the leader of the Christian Democrats party that will hold the most power in a new coalition government to be formed based on the results of voter choices. Balkenende is almost certain to become the Netherlands' new prime minister. Balkenende is a geeky-looking guy whose policies include homophobia, anti-environmentalism, interfering in medical choices made by patients and doctors, and ending the long-standing Dutch policy that "tolerates" the sale of marijuana and hashish in licensed pot coffee shops. The likely prime minister will gain power by building a coalition with an ultra-right political party, LIST, that received the second highest number of votes in recent elections. LIST was led by Pim Fortuyn, a demagogue whose hardline stance against immigrants resembled the stance of Belgium fascist party Vlaams Blok. Last year, Van Schaik and hundreds of his suppporters stood down Vlaams Blok when its members tried to intimidate pro-marijuana efforts that Van Schaik was carrying out in Belgium. Pim Fortuyn did not live to see the election- he was recently assassinated. His assassination, and the terrorist bombings that took place in the US on September 11, apparently made some Dutch voters cast their vote for LIST, out of sympathy for Fortuyn, and because of rising Dutch hatred and fear of Holland's Muslim immigrant population. Van Schaik hopes that the fact that Haarlem's mayor is an advocate of coffee shops, and that Haarlem's system of coffee shop regulation is a model for the rest of Holland, will protect his businesses and customers from persecution, at least for a while. But a coffee shop owner in Amsterdam, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that Amsterdam's 400 coffee shops, as well as coffee shops in other locales, might be closed within a year. "This is totally fucked situation," the owner said. "The mayor here is against us, and the police don't help us either. Like, they come in our shops too often to make sure we are following their rules, and they won't let us advertise on the internet, but when we get robbed or need some other kind of help, they ignore us. Now, with this new dictator type person who is likely to run the government, with him already stating that he wants to end the soft drugs experiment, it is a lot of people that I know shaking their heads and saying, 'Is this the end of the dream?'" The coffee shop owner said that many marijuana industry leaders and others believe that the election outcome was engineered by the media and by the US. "Over in America, they are just now having the courage in their journalism to say what we in Europe have already been saying, that Bush and the CIA employees bin Laden and their Taliban and the others knew and planned together on what was going to happen on 9-11, and that the Americans and their CIA helped it happen because it was the way for the Bush types and their bedmates to scare everybody into disliking Muslims and to be accepting all these new police powers into everybody's lives, and to elect right wing people," he said. "In this election season we saw the media do everything possible to assist the right wing, and this assasination of Fortuyn is very suspicious. It was probably CIA. It only helped his party. This is, how do you say it in English, a 'set-up.'" A jubilant Balkenende bragged to journalists that one of his goals was to shut down the coffee shops, but he admitted that it might not happen overnight. Observers say that tne putative prime minister might not have it so easy- LIST reportedly supports a legalization-taxation scheme for marijuana, and other members of a likely right wing coalition also appear to be reluctant to kill the multi-billion dollar cash cow that is the Dutch marijuana industry. Even Balkenende agreed that it could take a few years before his goal of eliminating coffee shops is realized. None of this is of any comfort to the Amsterdam coffee shop owner, who said, "It will be interesting to see if the Dutch cannabists and the marijuana tourists will rise up to stop these fascists." "All the studies show that the Dutch drugs policy is the best in the world," he said. "We let people use the drugs, they find out if they like them, they handle it. It's the same with prostitution. These people who say they are Christians are no more than little Hitlers, they would crucify Christ as a Middle-Eastern foreigner if he was to come here today. They want to ruin what is best about Holland. The people who voted for them are stupid, scared or dangerous, but it's also the fault of the marijuana people in my country who have not worked together, who have not voted, who have not built coalitions with Greens, gays and lesbians, and others who want to move ahead. We have been lazy and passive. Now we will see what we are made of. Tell your readers to make it over here now, because our coffee shops may soon become as extinct as icebergs and everything else we are losing." Note: New Dutch government plans to close all coffee shops. Contact Van Schaik via email at: cannabinol@wwwshop.nl or check out -- http://www.wwwshop.nl Related Articles: Dutch Voters Turn To The Right Amsterdam's Smokin' Coffee Shops The Real Sin City of Amsterdam Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #20 posted by Jose Melendez on May 18, 2002 at 17:24:46 PT:
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| Check out this pattern of deceipt: From: NEW YORK ( AP ) -- More than 100 people were arrested in a citywide police sweep to seize illegal drug paraphernalia, some of which was confiscated from tobacco shops, bodegas and grocery stores, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday. From: To the Editor: John R. Dunne ( Op-Ed, May 10 ) calls for a return to judicial sentencing discretion, decries the effect of the Rockefeller drug laws on "minority" communities, and expresses dismay at district attorneys for opposing reform. This overlooks the fact that even under the present law, judges retain considerable sentencing discretion. From: ...Marijuana and other illicit drugs diminish our quality of life. This administration is committed to enforcing the laws concerning controlled substances, including the illegal use of marijuana. Our primary goal is to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers and to ensure safety and security in our neighborhoods... Contact NYC Mayor Bloomberg and tell him their focus group is all wet. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #19 posted by Jose Melendez on May 18, 2002 at 12:00:40 PT:
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| Did marijuana diminish Mike Bloomberg's quality of life?
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| Comment #18 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 18, 2002 at 08:04:16 PT |
| ...after you compliment them on their country and its policies, let them know you won't back to spend any more tourist dollars if they let the new government close down the coffee shops. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #17 posted by el_toonces on May 18, 2002 at 06:36:11 PT:
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| Numbers count when politicians make decisions about how to appeal to 'public opinion'. It's very easy to write Mayor Bloomberg at http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html. If he gets a few more taking issue with his position on cannabis, it might cause him to re-think, and if not, hell, you waste three minutes writing the e-note. I did not used to see much value in restating the text of private correspondence here, but I can the value now -- at a minimum, (1) inconsistent and disingenuous responses can be vetted and used to our benefit; (2) reading the notes others have written motivate me to take the time to write and I hope that can be generalized. Here's my e-note to his Honor, for what it's worth (note: when you write in on the site, you must choose a category, so I chose travel & tourism because I know the money from that means a lot in NYC, but any choice can be used) -- "I just want to let everyone in Mayor Bloomberg's office know that I will refrain from visiting NYC, though it is one of my favorite cities, so long as that office continues to be hypocritical about marijuana use. I will also urge those I know to do the same. The mayor and those in his office have been very duplicitous, joking about in the media in response to the NORML ad campaign and attempting to ignore the point the ad makes. Yet, the mayor's office is telling those who write to complain about the city continuing to arrest marijuana 'offenders' that marijuana "detracts from the quality of life". Marijuana use hasn't done much to diminish the quality of life for Michael Bloomberg and I think if the city continues to arrest marijuana 'offenders', the mayor or someone in his office at least ought to explain why this plant lowers the quality of life for everyone but the guy who said "You bet I did, and I ENJOYED it"! People vote with their tourist dollars, and if the city thinks those dollars aren't much, you ought to check the demographic profile of the 20 million or so pot users in this country!" Take a minute and let "Mikey" know how you feel....... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by BGreen on May 18, 2002 at 05:38:22 PT |
| Willie is starting off his European tour at the Paradiso on May 30th, and will probably vacation in Amsterdam at the tours' conclusion (as he's done in the past.) I'll be at the Paradiso (WHOO-HOO!) and I'll let you know what Willies' take on the situation is. Maybe he'll get pissed enough to get things changed in the States. I can see it now: Cannabin-aid 2002, gathering musicians and cannabis partakers together, and farmers sending in donations. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #15 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 18, 2002 at 05:14:19 PT:
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| 1) Plan a trip to Holland.
2) Behave impeccably (Do not smoke on the street).
3) Talk to everyone (hotel clerk, taxi driver, the folks at the next table) and compliment them on their country and its policies.
4) When you come home, write to your politicians and newspapers explaining why the Dutch system reduces harm associated with drugs.
5) Be an ambassador of tolerance and change.
6) Save for another trip to Holland. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #14 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 18, 2002 at 04:57:41 PT:
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| The reasons for not closing the cannabisshops are numerous, I will mention the most important arguments for maintaining or improving the current policy on cannabis.
Closing all cannabisshops would eventually lead to ending all other experiments with drugs, like the needle exchange and the succesfull distribution of free heroin to registered problematic harddrugsusers. This alone would lead to a rapid comeback of pity crime in the streets of the Netherlands, wich has been succesfully reduced by the Methadon/free heroin program, over the last few years.
Closing all cannabisshops would mean that cannabis would get back in the hands of those dealing in all drugs, resurrecting the dismantled stepping stone theory, being realised by shoving soft- and harddrugs back together in one corner.
Closing all cannabisshops would also bring back organised crime in the cannabis culture, as they will be the alternative to feed the demand for any drug on the market. Cannabisshops are supplied by homegrowers, on a basis of mutual confidence and trust, their input is about 75 % of all cannabis in Dutch cannabisshops. Homegrown cannabis has excluded organised crime from the supply line to cannabisshops, foreign hash lost its 95 % marketshare over the last decade !
Closing all cannabisshops is practically impossible, all Dutch cannabisoutlets are registered leisure companies, with a permit to sell drinks and snacks. No government can close the businesses as such, they can only try to forbid to sell cannabis from them.
That would cause a problem for the authorities, because the cannabisshops would go back to the old-fashioned way of ‘dealing’, through a person on a table in the place, who has no connection with the business, when asked. That was the way it was done before the so-called cannabismenu’s were introduced, and that is the way that will always work.
It would mean that cannabisshops would not be able to pay tax anymore, as the income from cannabis can no longer be booked in, it would incriminate the entrepeneur.
It would take at least two police officers per coffeeshop, per day, to try and prevent the sales of cannabis from cannabisshops, with a police force that has a chronic shortage of police officers already.
Aiming to close all cannabisshops is going back to the jungle, as the trade in drugs on the street is called, and would ruin all previous efforts made to shape and execute the Drugpolicy as it is today. The Netherlands have the best results in regulating drugs by far, mainly because the use of drugs do not resort under the Justice Department, only the trade in drugs is their responsibility.
The use and abuse of drugs are the responsibility of our Health Department, their taking part in the Drugpolicy is meant to protect the health of the druguser, by offering help and support, in finding or creating a solution for the intended user’s drugproblem.
Balkenende, the leader of the CDA, and probably our new Prime Minister, has stated he wants to end the ‘tolerance culture’ in Holland, and mentioned the coffeeshops and illegal immigrants in ‘black’ labour as examples. He never stated he wants to close the Dutch cannabisshops, that is what the press distilled from his words.
Ending the ‘tolerance status’ for cannabisshops could mean two possible solutions :
The first one is the doom scenario the press is creating, the new Dutch government close all cannabisshops, period.
They would have to have good reasons for that, a ‘tolerance staus’ is meant to experiment with something that is actually illegal, but so commonly done, that upholding the Law on such a situation would be practically impossible. Prostitution was tolerated for 65 years !, before it was fully legalised a few years ago, no political party ever tried to forbid prostitution, they always tried to find the best possible way to regulate the flow of commercial sex and the connecting industry.
If the last 28 years of allowing the small sales of cannabis from registered outlets have been an experimental phase, it is about time to end the ‘tolerance status’, and to act after the outcome of the results of the long-running experiment.
Cannabisshops do not mean any harm to Dutch society, on the contrary, they succesfully separate the two markets, cannabissales only, no harddrugs on the premises.
The figures are in favour of cannabisshops, not against them, as many people seem to think, especially compared to all alcohol outlets in the Netherlands, there is no violence whatsoever in cannabisshops.
If the new government does want to end the ‘tolerance status’ for coffeeshops, they can only go for full legalisation, and it would comply with Balkenende’s wish, no more tolerance !
The stance of the murdered Pim Fortuyn, the founder of the LIST (LPF), on cannabisshops was very clear, he had no problems with them, if only they pay their taxes…. All Dutch cannabisshops pay taxes and all businessrates, they employ a lot of staff, thusway contributing to the Dutch society, as any other business.
Ending the tolerance system for cannabisshops can only lead to legalisation, not to the enforced closure of the businesses, there is no legal nor social reason for that, unless Balkenende wants to ruin the best administrated Drugpolicy in the world.
Cannabis entrepreneurs are used to working in a grey area, any adjustment will be made to keep cannabis available through cannabisshops, no matter what it takes.
Nol van Schaik,
www.globalhempmuseum.nl www.williewortel.org www.dutchexperience.org [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #13 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 18, 2002 at 04:56:53 PT:
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| Pressmessage :
The new Dutch government and the possible consequences for the coffeeshop system.
What will happen to the Dutch coffeeshops under the new government, will these right-winged people shut all cannabis coffeeshops in Holland ?
That is about the general content of a question I get asked over and over again, the last few days, through my website and by phone, by press and worried cannabis tourists.
I think I have the answers and the arguments to prove this press created hype is just a hype, as a Dutchman with an interest in our national politics, and as a so-called ‘coffeeshopkeeper’, offering and selling marihuana and hash through my three registered cannabisshops in Haarlem, the Netherlands. To start with the facts: The CDA, Hollands biggest political party after the elections, are the only party against the coffeeshopsystem in the Netherlands, they now have 43 out of the available 150 seats in the Dutch parliament.In order to form a government, they need at least two other parties to create a coalition that can govern the country. The best possible partners for the CDA, a conservative catholic party, absolutely non-racist, are the newly risen LPF, List Pim Fortuyn, or LIST (26 seats), and the VVD (24 seats). Together, this coalition would have 93 seats, enough for the required majority in parliament. The LPF and its recently assasinated leader, Pim Fortuyn, have been portrayed as extremely right-winged, by national and international press. This is far from the truth, Pim Fortuyn was an openly gay person, who made very blunt statements about his solutions for Holland, and especially about the immigrant problem. The LIST’s second in command is a coloured man, Varela, and there are more cultures represented in the party, they were completey in line with Fortuyn’s political view. Pim Fortuyn had a view on coffeeshops too, he saw no problem in them, as long as they pay taxes, and admitted he smoked occasionally after this statement. The VVD, who are not really keen on being in the new government, have been part of the Purple coalition for the last 8 years, when they were in charge of the parliament. During this period they created and maintained the coffeeshoppolicy as it is still in use today. I do not see how they can change their stance overnight, IF they decide to take part in the CDA’s most wanted possibility. Hollands drugspolicy is well known throughout the world, and had a load of criticism over the last decades, especially from the USA and France, but managed to withstand the international pressure. Results and figures have proven the Dutch policy right, the Netherlands still have drugproblems, but they have been succesfully contained and regulated. This resulted in the ‘Dutch system’ to be the best possible way to go about with drugs and its users, focussed on the separation of softdrugs (cannabis) and harddrugs (heroin, cocain, etc.). This separation was meant to keep young people, experimenting with cannabis, away from the users of harddrugs, by allowing the sales of cannabis from registerd outlets, the so-called coffeeshops. Even the CDA will not be serious about closing the cannabisshops, as I prefer to call them, the international press make us believe they will. (CONTINUED) [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #12 posted by Jose Melendez on May 18, 2002 at 04:51:18 PT:
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| here is the correct link for New York Mayor Bloomberg. http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #11 posted by Jose Melendez on May 18, 2002 at 04:50:37 PT:
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| here is the correct link for New York Mayor Bloomberg. http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/ [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #10 posted by Jose Melendez on May 18, 2002 at 04:48:47 PT:
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| cross-posted at http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/ mayor.html for Ethan Russo MD: Weeks ago, I wrote to Mayor Bloomberg, congratulating him on his honesty about his cannabis use, and encouraging him to liberalize current laws. Just today, I received E-mail from his office from Jody J. Kaplan Director of Correspondence This is my response: "Your response is not only bigoted, it is untrue. As a Ethan Russo, MD Note to public officials: Soon, every objection to safe, [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by Tim Stone on May 17, 2002 at 19:29:20 PT |
| Viz: The Dutch drug policies, including blind's man laissez faire on cannabis cafes. The Dutch are too stable as a society, too practical, too savvy to throw away a sound, workable drug policy, just because of a change in gov't. The essentials of Dutch drug policy have survived several gov't shake-ups for 25 years !! That suggests a solid consensual agreement among the Dutch voters that even though they may think cannabis policy rather self-indulgent, they will still prefer present Dutch drug policy, however flawed, to American-style prohibition, since even the Dutch conservatives by in large are savvy enough to know that re-instituting cannabis prohibition in The Netherlands would be an absolute disaster. The rank-and file Dutch voters will refuse to allow it when push comes to shove. Remember also that The Netherlands are part of the European Union, and all the energy happening in the EU is anti-prohibitionist. So the prediction is: much momentary ado about long-term little. No substantial change in Dutch drug policy because the majority still support the policies, however reluctantly, as better than any alternative, certainly better than anything the U.S. might have to offer. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by Masscrusader on May 17, 2002 at 13:58:27 PT |
| I politly told her that she would not dare speak thisto a mmj user in person. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by masscrusader on May 17, 2002 at 13:55:30 PT |
| Dear Shidig,
Thanks for your comments on the Herald Times article, but I couldn't really
understand what you were trying to say. If you think my research is in
error, you could respond with an editorial of your own backed up by
scientific study. If your letter is any indication of communication skills
of a person who relies on marijuana to function daily, then you are an ideal
example of the debilitating effects of the drug. Take Care Sue Linville [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by masscrusader on May 17, 2002 at 13:52:41 PT |
| Actually totally legalize the industry. When all the propaganda goes away the only issue left in the debate of marijuana would be regulation. Far right parties are for big business. It is the left that will negotiate the taxes. It is not the drug use in the coffee shop they want to curtail, it is the lack of government reaping the profits. No coffe shop can donate money to party, they are too small. Take a lesson from this America... [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on May 17, 2002 at 11:45:19 PT:
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| ... but it's also the fault of the marijuana people in my country who have not worked together, who have not voted, who have not built coalitions with Greens, gays and lesbians, and others who want to move ahead. We have been lazy and passive. Push is coming to shove, all over the planet. The reactionary forces of the self-proclaimed Elites are taking the soft funny masks off, and showing their steel-covered fangs. The entire planet is in the unenviable position that the Weimar Republic of Germany was in just before Hitler's rise. All the warning signs are there. Facsism once more becoming cloaked in the sanctity of nationalism...and ethnic hatreds. Super-rich old codgers who secretly harbor nothing but contempt for democracy use democracy to sucker the voters...until they take over and start passing laws like the USA PATRIOT Act. Which nullifies democracy. I pray that the Dutch public are treated to some incidents in which the real goals of the fascists-in-all-but-name become crystal clear. Pim Fortuyn's slogan during the election was "Full is full", referring to immigration. The Nazi's had another saying: "Verdammt Juden hraus!" (" Damned Jews, get the f- out!"). The words are different...but the meaning is unmistakable.... [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 17, 2002 at 11:41:07 PT:
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| My E-mail back to the mayor's office bounced. Apparently they send mail, but do not wish to receive it. Such is the fate of dialogue in the American political scene. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by darwin on May 17, 2002 at 11:38:22 PT |
| I was waiting anxiously to hear from those involved over there to hear there take. Last week, my wife and I began planning a trip there for this fall and I don't want to have non refundable tickets to a closed down Wally World. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 17, 2002 at 11:35:02 PT:
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| Weeks ago, I wrote to Mayor Bloomberg, congratulating him on his honesty about his cannabis use, and encouraging him to liberalize current laws. Just today, I received this E-mail from his office: Dear Dr. Russo, Thank you for your recent email to Mayor Bloomberg. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns regarding the enforcement of marijuana laws in New York City. Marijuana and other illicit drugs diminish our quality of life. This administration is committed to enforcing the laws concerning controlled substances, including the illegal use of marijuana. Our primary goal is to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers and to ensure safety and security in our neighborhoods. Thank you for using NYC.GOV to contact the Office of the Mayor. Sincerely yours, Jody J. Kaplan Director of Correspondence This is my response: Your response is not only bigoted, it is untrue. As a public servant, you have the responsibility to be both accurate and fair. Perhaps you may recall the results of a little study commissioned by a previous distinguished mayor of NY, Fiorello LaGuardia. They knew then, and it remains true now, that cannabis is a relatively harmless herb with definite medical benefits, whose use should not cause incarceration. You have my permission to tell His Honor this on my behalf. Ethan Russo, MD Perhaps I could have been more diplomatic, but that is pretty difficult in the face of all the hypocrisy, lies and deceipt. Anyone complicit in their perpetuation deserves to be confronted with the cold, hard facts, at the very least. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 17, 2002 at 11:30:16 PT:
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| Upon hearing the news yesterday, I immediately inquired with various friends there. It may not be as bad as all that. Here are the responses: Nol van Schaik, Coffee Shop owner: "The election result is what I expected, and the possible coalition as well. The CDA always had the same stance on cannabis and coffeeshops : Zero tolerance. I can hardly see it happen that the new government will even try to go after the coffeeshops, one of the possible coalition members, the List Pim Fortuyn, was very clear about coffeeshops: If they pay tax, it's ok. We will have to wait and see, I think this cabinet will fall before they get things done, all experienced politicians are now opposition, and eager to enforce new elections... Prescription cannabis was even allowed by the CDA, no worry about that at all." Also, from Willem Scholten, the head of the Dutch Office of Medicinal Cannabis in the Hague: The concequences of the election cannot be predicted yet, but there are some facts: - the parliament accepted a bill to amend our narcotic drugs act (Opium Act) in early April without any votes against. The most important topic in the amendment was the regulation of medicinal cannabis. So it is hardly thinkable that a new government would stop the medicinal cannabis. What might be possible is that there will be other accents. We will see. - Regarding coffee shop the consensus has been always less in parliament as it was with medicinal cannabis, but I think there will remain a majority. The murdered leader Pim Fortuyn of the new right wing party has spoken out short before his death that he was pro drug liberalisation. The problem with this party is that nobody knows what will be its program!!! In fact it was only Pim Fortuyn who made the pre-election party program by writing a book. I have other queries out, and will post responses here. [ Post Comment ] |
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