ReageraMera

How does the Netherlands cope with its coffee shops? In the eighties the development of the coffee shops went forward undisturbed by the government. This resulted of course in an enormous increase of these outlets. Since 1991 some formal regulations were put in place. The government published a governments bill that confirmed the basic principles of the Dutch drugs policy but also emphasized much more the enforcement side of the drugs problem. Other items in this bill were: the experimental small-scale medical supply of heroin to so-called dege­nera­ted, psychi­at­ric addicts who are con­si­de­red to be therapy-resistant, or in other words hopeless. More harm reduction projects were to be set up instead of projects that aim at total abstinence. In the rest of my lecture, I will mainly focus on cannabis.

In 1996 de Public Prosecutor published specific guide lines.

Home cultivation from five plants onwards is punishable; when less than five plants are cultivated, the plants will be confiscated but there won't be a charge provided, however, that these plants will not be under a lamp and that they are watered with a water jug. Artificial light, irrigation systems, time switches or extractor hoods point to business cultivation.

coffee shops are allowed to have 500 grams in stock for sale at maximum ;

coffee shops are prohibited by law to admit minors. The penalty for selling to minors and other vulnerable groups has been raised. Local municipalities will be able to keep coffee shops away from nearby schools and psychiatric hospitals, for example;

as of 1 October 1996, there is a strict separation between the sale of alcohol and cannabis. That means that selling soft drugs in cafés is prohibited by law.

mayors have received more authority to close down coffee shops, even in the case where there is no disturbance of the public order.

The coffee shops had to comply with specific regulations. The sale of cannabis in coffee shops is tolerated, provided that they comply to the following criteria:

no advertisement

no sales of hard drugs

no nuisance,

no sales to young minors

no wholesale trade quantities.

As mentioned earlier, at the local level is decided whether or not coffee shops will be tolerated. That can lead to the following options:

zero-policy (coffee shops not permitted)

maximum policy/reduction policy

foundation policy

When the criteria are violated sanctions can be administered. The last ten to fifteen years have seen a general decrease in the number of coffee shops.

Number of coffee shops in the Netherlands

And what about the consumption and production statistics?

Turnover: between 211 and 283 million euros annually

Domestic consumption ‘Netherweed': between 24,9 and 26,1 metric tons annually

Foreign consumption by drug tourists: between 6,6 and 13,3 metric tons annually

Market price 1 gram of cannabis €6,59

3 400 persons working in coffee shops (2003)

Critical Appraisal

I now come to the last part of my lecture. How should we estimate the Dutch Drug policy? How strong are the most important fundaments of our 30 year old drug policy?

In an Erasmus University study into the quality of the drug policy debate by the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, at the instigation of De Hoop, showed that the parties involved tend to approach drug problems rationally and thereby try to avoid moral consi­de­rations. They plea for an instru­mental, scientifical­ly based approach. Drug policies ought to be based on hard facts and a clear costs/benefits analysis and not on what some of them call 'emotional' and 'mora­listic' arguments. According to the Erasmus study, the core of the drug problems is not the deve­lop­ment of some kind of drug policy model but the meaning of issues like health, quality of life, responsibili­ty, addicti­on and autonomy. An attempt to appro­ach drug problems 'objective­ly' disregards the moral aspects involved and is therefo­re doomed not to produce the expected more balanced drug policy. Besides scientific research on drug issues, a moral input is needed to direct us in the choices that need to be made.

So, in short, the researchers pointed out the following characteristics:

a tendency towards rationalization of the drug policy in order to avoid moral con­siderations

little consideration for moral aspects

drug policy can't do without moral/ethical/political considerations

parties involved regard most politicians as being opportunistic, incompe­tent and incli­ned to choose easy solu­tions

the current political climate does not indicate a short-term change for the better

Now, when we have a closer look at the cannabis policy and the coffee shops, what do we see?

There is a Dutch paradox: to permit formally what is formally forbidden

Miscalculation: commercialization of cannabis - lack of recognition concerning profitability of cannabis sale

Basic assumtions and arguments for tolerance policy are outdated or erroneous

By condoning the retail trade the government more or less protected an illegal market. In the lee of this condoning policy organised crime could develop into successful illegal entrepreneurs. Organised crime has profited from the Dutch conditions. And this organised crime doesn't restrict itself to de delivery of drugs, but is occupying itself also with the trade in women and in the field of environmental crime.

Recent research points out that a majority of the owners of coffeeshops have criminal backgrounds.

The backdoor of the coffee shops is not regulated and will not be regulated, as far the present new government is concerned.

There is a lot of nuisance around coffee shops by drug tourists. We have problems with drugs smuggling.

And the government? Despite its more hard line approach, it still earns quite a lot of money through the sale of cannabis. Every year, so are the estimates, the Treasury collects 400 million in tax revenues from the owners of coffee shops. The approximately 730 coffee shops sell about 265,000 kilo's of soft drugs, predominantly netherweed. The annual turnover is estimated at two billion euros. As an export product netherweed ranks third after the cucumber and the tomato. Germany and the UK are the largest customers.

I like to end with a quote of an university professor

"Closing the coffee shops would make an end to artificial rationality and incredibility" (Van de Bunt, ‘Hoe stevig zijn de fundamenten van het cannabisbeleid', in Coffeeshops en cannabis, Justitiële Verkenningen, 1, 2006)

A government will have to indicate the limits of what is and what is not appropriate for our society. In my opinion, drug use is not appropriate for a society that highly values ‘responsibility'. Drug use and addiction should continue to be socially unacceptable forms of behaviour.