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Smoke SignalsThe Scoop on Holland
What the heck is going on in Holland? At CC we've been
hearing persistent rumours that they're cracking down on coffeeshops and
shutting down grow rooms, yet the actual situation is a little more complex.
Coffeeshop & Pot PolicyIt's true that the Dutch government has made some changes to their cannabis policy and have been talking about making more. They're doing this in part because of pressure from outside nations like France and the US, and partly because their government is still suffering from the political fallout of the revelation that Dutch cops had been smuggling huge quantities of hash and other drugs into the country for the past few years.The only major changes that have already been made are to limit the amount of pot that can be sold to five grams per person, and to formally state that coffeeshop owners will not be charged for possession of the pot that they keep in their coffeeshop. The new rules being discussed include making viable seeds illegal, and enforcing a four plant limit on cultivation, with fines for anything over that amount, and up to six months prison time for cultivation of over 100 plants. How coffeeshops are supposed to stock themselves with a four plant limit has not been explained, but the consensus was that they'd start learning how to grow five really, really big plants. There's a petition against the new rules circulating the Amsterdam coffeeshops. Whether it will do any good remains to be seen. Medical MarijuanaIt's not all bad news however. On September 5 Dutch Minister of Health, Elst Borst, announced that Holland would officially allow what was already common practice, the prescription and sale of medicinal marijuana through pharmacies and health centres. Many coffeeshops have already agreed to give patrons with a prescription a significant discount on their herbal medicine.Municipally Owned CoffeeshopsAnother interesting development is that five Dutch cities have opened their own municipal coffeeshops, and one of them even wants to grow their own pot. Is this good news? It all depends on how you look at it.The Dutch towns of Delfzijl, Bussum, Heerhugowaard, Zoetermeer and Emmen have introduced municipally run "softdrug shops" where marijuana is legally sold. In most cases there wasn't any competition for the municipal shops, but in Delfzijl the City Council closed down the two coffeeshops that were already there before opening their own. Customers at Delfzijl's potshop The Paradox complain of high prices and the lack of private competition. As to where they get the pot to sell, a Delfzil city official said it is purchased "behind closed doors," while the city of Emmen has announced that they will be growing their own, and Bussum is investigating that option as well. Emmen city officials didn't say exactly where they would locate Holland's first municipally-funded growroom, but don't be surprised if there's a funny smell coming from the City Hall basement and a twinkle in the Mayor's eye next time you visit.
~ Dana Larsen
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