Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gressive attitude about marijuana. Regardless of your views, it's fascinating to try to un-
derstand the Dutch system that, in 1976, decriminalized the personal recreational use of
pot. I travel to Amsterdam frequently, and on each visit, as a part of my guidebook research
chores, I talk to various locals about marijuana—from the guys who run shops that sell
pot, to pot smokers and non-smokers, and to police officers who deal with drug problems
face-to-face. Here's what I've learned.
First off, marijuana is not actually “legal” in the Netherlands—Dutch law still tech-
nically defines marijuana use as a crime. But for nearly 40 years, the nation's prosecutors
have made it a policy not to enforce that law under their guiding principle of expediency:
It makes no sense to enforce a law that is more trouble than it's worth.
The Dutch are justly famous for their practice of
gedogen
—toleration. They believe
that as soon as you criminalize something, you lose any ability to regulate it. So, just as
we tolerate and regulate alcohol and tobacco, they tolerate and regulate recreational pot
smoking.
But Dutch tolerance has its limits. The moment you hurt or threaten someone else, the
crime is no longer victimless—and no longer tolerated. Dutch laws against driving under
the influence—whether alcohol or marijuana—are extremely tough. The Dutch are well
aware of the problems associated with drugs, especially addictive ones. (The Dutch word
for addiction is “enslavement.”) Because of the wide-reaching social costs of having cit-
izens “enslaved” by hard drugs, heroin, and cocaine are strictly illegal in the Netherlands.
And, while the police generally ignore marijuana use, they stringently enforce laws pro-
hibiting the sale and use of hard drugs.
Throughout the Netherlands, you'll see “coffeeshops”: cafés selling marijuana. The
minimum age for purchase is 18, and coffeeshops can sell up to five grams of marijuana
per person per day. As long as you're a paying customer (for instance, you buy a drink),
you can pop into any coffeeshop and light up, even if you didn't buy your pot there.
Because of laws prohibiting the advertising of marijuana, the customer must take
the initiative to get the menu. Locals buy marijuana by asking, “Can I see the cannabis
menu?” In some coffeeshops, customers actually have to push and hold down a button to
see an illuminated menu—the contents of which look like the inventory of a drug bust.
