Pubdate: Sat, 05 Mar 2005
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2005 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Jason Bennetto
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

AMSTERDAM FALLS OUT OF LOVE WITH COFFEE SHOPS AS LIBERAL STANCE ON DRUGS
BEGINS TO CRUMBLE

Amsterdam falls out of love with coffee shops as liberal stance on
drugs begins to crumble

For the past 18 years Michael Veling and his staff have been serving
up such delights as White Widow and Blueberry in his wood-panelled
coffee shop in the heart of Amsterdam.

For as little as 805 (UKP 3.50) visitors can smoke a cannabis joint
in Cafe De Kuil and sip a beer while listening to music ranging from
Frank Zappa to Mozart.

The 50-year-old bar owner and political activist said: "My main
concern is to make sure there is a good mix of people at my coffee
shop and that they get the best quality grass and marijuana."

But the Dutch coffee shop system is under threat. According to one of
the country's leading drug specialists and a government adviser,
cannabis coffee shops and cafe-bars will be extinct within five years.

The number of cannabis outlets has already declined from a peak of
nearly 1,500 to about 750. Only about a fifth of Dutch towns and
cities have coffee shops, and that number is shrinking.

The clampdown is being blamed on a more conservative attitude by the
coalition government and local mayors, and pressure from other
European Union members who disapprove of the Dutch approach.

This shift in attitude was acknowledged by the United Nations earlier
this week. The annual report by the International Narcotics Control
Board (INCB), which is part of the UN, noted that the Netherlands'
government had informed them of a "crucial and significant change in
its policy on cannabis". It said that the Dutch government has
promised to take tougher action against drug tourists, street dealing,
cannabis growing, and the coffee shops. The report stated: "The
[Dutch] government notes that coffee shops may discredit the drug
policy of the country in general."

Professor Hamid Ghodse, president of the INCB, said: "There has been a
crucial and significant change in the Dutch cannabis policy. They now
say for the first time that cannabis is not harmless and that coffee
shops are not blameless."

Among the measures being introduced is a pilot scheme in the province
of Limburg which bans foreigners from buying drugs in coffee shops, to
kill the trade in tourists coming over the nearby borders with Germany
and Belgium. A study is being made of strong forms of cannabis, which
is likely to lead to a ban of these varieties. In addition the police
are targeting people who grow cannabis at home.

The law on coffee shops, the first of which opened in 1975, is
confusing, and many believe nonsensical. Cannabis use is not illegal,
but possession of the drug is against the law. However, anyone caught
with less than 30g of the substance is not prosecuted. Anyone aged
over 18 can buy up to five grams of cannabis in a coffee shop, which
is allowed to hold a stock of up to 500g. But technically the shop
owner is breaking the law and can be prosecuted for buying large
quantities of cannabis in the first place and transporting it to the
shop.

Supporters of the coffee shop system fear that a collapse of the
outlets would lead to drug dealing and cultivation going underground,
which would play into the hands of criminals.

August de Loor, an independent consultant who advises the Dutch
government on drug policy, said: "The changes have been brought about
by the influence of the Yankees [the United States], Brussels and the
EU. The Dutch  approach is usually very pragmatic.

"But in the past four years things have started to change and there is
a more conservative approach. The control of coffee shops has become
much more strict. The police are checking up on them more and there is
much more strict interpretation of the rules. More and more mayors are
banning coffee shops from their cities. I think in four or five years'
time there will be no more coffee shops left in Holland."

He added: "We have a conservative government at the moment but it's
nothing to do with the left or right. It's a moral thing. It's a sign
of the times."

But Mr Veling is unperturbed by talk of the death of the coffee shop.
"It's all rhetoric by the government. It's just to pacify certain
members of the European Union - I do not believe it," he said.

HOW THE LAW VARIES

Britain: Cannabis has been downgraded from Class B to Class C. Possession of
a
small amount ceased to be an arrestable offence in most situations, but
officers still have the power to arrest. Usually, the drug is to be
confiscated
and users warned. The maximum penalty for possession has been reduced from
five
years to two years.

Netherlands: Dealing in small quantities of cannabis through coffee shops is
technically illegal. Drug use is not an offence. Possessingup to 30g is a
minor
offence, though users are not prosecuted. Possessingmore than 30g is a
criminal offence.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin