Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jul 2013
Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)
Copyright: 2013 Boulder Weekly
Contact:  http://www.boulderweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57
Author: Leland Rucker
Column: Weed Between the Lines
Page: 61
Cited: http://mapinc.org/url/DrmLeMyb

GATEWAY DRUGS, DUTCH COFFEE SHOPS AND TAX REVENUE

How many times have you heard the argument that cannabis should remain
illegal because it is a "gateway" drug, described as one that
increases the risk that a user might try other, harder drugs?

The two arguments behind this theory are that a) there are
pharmacological qualities in cannabis that actually lead users to try
other drugs and/or b) that cannabis use puts users in places and
situations where they are exposed to harder drugs.

About the first one, the science has been decidedly mixed, with the
Drug Enforcement Agency and federal government always quoting studies
that promote its "gateway" properties and ignoring others that suggest
otherwise.

A Pew poll earlier this year found that 38 percent of Americans now
believe cannabis is a gateway drug. That's down from 60 percent in a
1977 Gallup poll, and a number that should continue dropping as
support for legalization rises.

I've read several research papers on both sides, and I'm most apt to
go with a Rand study published in 2002 that concludes that people who
are predisposed to use drugs and have the opportunity to do so are
more likely than others to use both marijuana and harder drugs, and
that marijuana typically comes first because it is more available.
Since I haven't found a study that proves a causal relationship, and I
know a lot of people who use cannabis but not other Schedule I drugs,
this is the only one that makes any sense to me.

Now comes a Dutch report published this week by the Open Society
Global Drug Policy Program that looks at that country's drug policies
over the last few decades. We all know the Netherlands. The country
that is soft on drugs, with "coffee shops" that serve marijuana over
the counter. The place where cannabis tourists flock from all around
the world.

"It may seem paradoxical that a nation famous for its so-called
'permissive' approach has had more positive outcomes in controlling
the harms of drug use than many other countries that have enacted
much stricter policies," writes Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, one of the
authors of Coffee Shops and Compromise: Separated Illicit Drug
Markets in the Netherlands. "Governments are looking to reform their
drug policies in order to maximize resources and promote health and
security, while protecting people from damaging and unwarranted
arrests. As other countries and local jurisdictions consider
reforming their laws, it's possible that the Netherlands' past offers
a guide for the future."

The most important change in Dutch policy came in 1976. In a revision
to the Opium Act, Holland categorized illegal drugs into two
categories: "hard drugs" with "unacceptable" risk, and cannabis and
soft drugs with "acceptable" risk to the health of the user,
effectively decriminalizing the use of marijuana.

Another interesting distinction is that tax revenue was never the
point. The money generated by cannabis sales went into public health,
human rights, drug programs and needle exchanges (Europe was fighting
a heroin epidemic in the 1970s). By not arresting people for cannabis
possession and selling it in retail outlets, cannabis buyers would be
less likely to buy it on the black market, where they might be exposed
to other drugs their dealers sold.

This, of course, was almost exactly the opposite of U.S. government
policy. Although it does offer drug programs, after cannabis was
outlawed in 1970, the U.S. began arresting users in almost ridiculous
numbers, a policy that continues today, with hundreds of thousands of
Americans in prison for simple possession.

Since the Dutch policies, while not perfect, seem to be working, it
begs the question of why the U.S. continues to emphasize the
"punitive" when it comes to illegal drugs. The U.S. has invested huge
resources to punish cannabis users under the principle that stricter
laws better deter users. The figures indicate otherwise. Arrest rates
for cannabis dropped dramatically in Holland. In Germany, 237 people
per 100,000 citizens are arrested for possession. In the U.S., the
rate is the highest - 269 per 100,000 citizens. In the Netherlands,
the number is 19 per 100,000.

The Dutch model has not been without its downsides. Successive
administrations have tried to re-institute a more American-style
punitive model and fought legalization. While the country's 700 coffee
shops provide a safe place to purchase cannabis, many are still being
supplied by the black market. To counter that, the Dutch are
considering moving toward a "seed to stem" model, in which the
government would grow, market and sell cannabis. "If Dutch drug policy
offers one lesson to foreign policymakers," the authors write, "it is
that change should be comprehensive, regulating sale to consumers,
wholesale supply and cultivation."

I'm not sure that that's going to fly here, since the state's
seed-to-stem efforts, at least so far, have been ineffective in
regulating medical marijuana product, but it's something to think
about, especially since Colorado, which has a particularly
sophisticated underground market, is considering high - many are
saying prohibitive - taxes on both state and city levels.

So while Boulder city council members are pondering how much revenue
they can squeeze out of over-the-counter cannabis, I suggest they
study Holland's past before licking their lips in anticipation of a
major new revenue source.
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MAP posted-by: Matt