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How do the Dutch regulate cannabis sales? |
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Written by Chris Conrad
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Saturday, 06 August 2005 |
How do the Dutch
regulate cannabis sales?
In the Netherlands, sales and cultivation of cannabis among adults,
still technically illegal, is accepted as an ordinary part of life and
regulated accordingly.
Peter Cohen of the Dutch Centre for Drug Research
reports that there are about 750 cannabis coffeeshops in The
Netherlands, of which fully a third are in Amsterdam. That is in
addition to every dispensary in the country, which can provide medical
marijuana on request.
The Ministry of Health publishes data on the number
of coffeeshops based on a count done each year by Bert Bieleman in
Groningen. His reports, called The National Drugs Monitor (2002), is
available in English on the website of Trimbos-Instituut, but not the
latest one, covering 2004.
Rotterdam has about 600,000 inhabitants and about 70
cannabis shops, one per 8500 residents. Amsterdam has a population of
700,000 and 250 coffeeshops, more than one per 3000 residents —
although the city also hosts a busy tourist industry. Some of the more
rural Dutch municipalities apply a rule of one cannabis shop for every
20,000 inhabitants.
Oakland, with a population of 399,484, could easily
support 20 such coffeeshops, and possibly more. The city has 802
businesses licensed to serve alcohol, so at a ratio of only one
coffeeshop per 10 alcohol licenses, the City could accommodate 80
cannabis outlets.
What has been the result of these 40 years of tolerance?
• The Dutch use cannabis at less than half the US rate.
• The age of first use of cannabis in The Netherlands is 20. In the United States, it is age 16.
• The rate of heroin addiction in The Netherlands is less than one-third the US rate.
• Since the 1970s, the average age of a heroin user in the US has
dropped from 26 to 19, while in The Netherlands, it has risen from age
26 to over 40
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Chris Conrad |
| About the author: |
| Staunch supporter of Oaksterdam News
Chris Conrad has studied cannabis (marijuana) since 1988. He has written two books on the topic and contributed to others. Familiar with numerous books and at least 100 scientific studies, such as federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse data. Reported on cannabis dispensaries for California legislators. Consults with government agencies. Testified at National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine hearings. Regularly consults with physicians including some of the world’s foremost authorities on cannabis and patients as to their knowledge and experiences regarding cannabis.
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