Drugs

Yep, legal too, at least certain ones are. The Dutch Ministry of Health has concluded that marijuana does not cause harm to the human body. Wanna buy a bag of weed? Go over to the nearest coffee shop and look at the menu. No, I don't mean a restaurant menu, I mean the marijuana menu.





The coffee shops in the Netherlands sell different strains of marijuana in different amounts and sold in different ways (little baggies, pre-rolled joints, joints with a mix of marijuana and tobacco, etc). (You must be 18 to enter). They also sell coffee and munchie foods. You can waste the day away hanging out in a coffee shop, smoking, drinking coffee, playing chess, and just chatting. If you are looking for a true coffee shop for a good cup of coffee, then look for a Braun Cafe (brown cafe), named this because of the dingy brown tobacco-stained walls.

Speaking of tobacco, I find the warning label on packs of cigarettes here interesting. In the US you get paragraphs about how cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema, and harms unborn children. In the Netherlands the warning label (and the signs in tobacco shops) say “Roken is Dodelijk” or “smoking will kill you”. Pretty simple.

Does this liberal drug policy mean that you walk through the streets smelling pot? No. People are pretty respectful about it. Occasionally you see the rude American dude who just arrived in Amsterdam and insists on walking down the street smoking a joint, strutting his stuff and making an ass of himself. “We all know you're smoking a joint, buddy -get over it!” (His next stop is the Red Light District). For the most part, people smoke marijuana in the coffee shops and at home. It's not politically correct to light up a joint in a restaurant or crowded area.

Another type of store is called a Smart Shop. This is a store that sells herbal concoctions that mimic other dangerous drugs such as ecstasy. They also sell sexual stimulants and other herbal mixes similar to Viagra. These Smart Shop products are manufactured under regulation and tested and found to be safe for humans – they are herbs – not products manufactured in a laboratory.

The Smart Shops also sell Hallucinogenic mushrooms. The Dutch Ministry of Health has found these to be safe for human consumption also. However, they must be in their natural state – fresh refrigerated mushrooms. They cannot be dried or processed, or they are considered illegal “hard drugs”. I'm not sure why there is this distinction, but that's the law.





If you have any questions about drug laws you can go to the Cannabis College. This is a non-profit organization that will supply you with information about laws, effects of certain drugs, drug interaction precautions, and they will even test your marijuana to make sure it is pure

The Dutch treat drug-addiction as a medical problem instead of as a social problem. The drug addict will not be thrown into jail along side the man who murdered his wife. Instead he will be hospitalized and receive proper medical care to help him detoxify his body and begin a drug free life.

The Dutch feel that marijuana is simply a relaxation plant and it is used similar to other herbs. Because the growth and distribution is regulated, the product is in it's pure form, not laced with dangerous substances found in illegal drugs in other countries. The distinction between “soft drugs” (marijuana, hash, and mushrooms) and “hard drugs” (cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, and others) is the difference between legal and illegal. Soft drugs are legal. Hard drugs are not. Of course that is not to say that hard drugs are not available. They are. Jeff has had the word “coke” whispered in his ear as he is walking by someone in the street. That's their method – whisper the substance they are selling into a person's ear and they will stop if interested. I have never had it whispered to me, but that probably has something to do with the stroller I'm pushing and the children hanging from my arms.

So what about the statistics? Less drug related-deaths than in the US and less drug related-violent crimes than in the US.......Let's face it, people are going to smoke pot whether it is legal or not. Which is better - regulated and tested baggies of pure marijuana or a baggie bought from the guy who hangs out on the corner?