Pubdate: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2006 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) DUTCH REJECT LOOSER RULES ON MARIJUANA AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The Dutch justice minister yesterday fended off a proposal to further liberalize the Netherlands' marijuana policy - -- for the time being. The minister, Piet Hein Donner, opposed allowing large-scale farming of marijuana in a pilot project near the southern city of Maastricht. Donner told the legislature in The Hague that allowing regulated farming would amount to outright legalization, which he said was unacceptable under Dutch law and international treaties. He signalled he was ready to resign rather than carry out the proposal. Under the 30-year-old Dutch tolerance policy, marijuana is technically illegal, but users are not prosecuted for possessing small amounts, and it is openly sold in coffee shops. The liberalization is meant to resolve the anomaly in which police allow shops to operate but crack down on growers -- meaning that supplies must be smuggled in or grown illegally. Regulation also would mean users get more information about the composition or safety of what they are smoking, supporters say. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin