Belgium, Germany Need to Allow Regulated Sale of Cannabis

[Jakobien]

Belgium and Germany need to open their own 'coffee-shops' and regulate the sale of cannabis drugs so that fewer 'drugs-tourists' will be forced to cross the border to the Netherlands, the Mayor of the Dutch city of Maastricht says.

In a one-on-one interview with EUX.TV, Gerd Leers also says he believes the regulating the sale of cannabis is a problem that should also be addressed at a European level. „The best way out of this problem is for Europe's political leaders to sit together, listen to these problems and then open their eyes for a real solution,

 

[MindAstronaut]

I dont like the CDA but i do like that Leers guy he knows its not gonna stop by simply saying No.

He is also a politician that is not bounded by his party program.
This guy openend his eyes for new ideas and solutions
anyway he would be a good rolemodel for future politicians.

 

[HomoSapiensFantasio]

yea, I live in Belgium en on bus, maastricht is only 30minutes for me,
so that's ok, but I would like to have a coffeeshop around the corner to,
in fact I would realy like to open one. All of us on this forum know that our druglaws now are totaly absurd so give it a try!! It's better that the peaple get cannabis in a coffeeshop than buying some illegal crap which is much worse for your health most of the time than if you buy it in a coffeeshop.

 

[Pinealjerker]

Coffeeshops now are only allowed to hold 30 grams on stock.

Though I'm proud of our Dutch drug policy, compared to other countries, these kinds of rules are still embarrasing. 30 grams, that's 10 customers! Why make laws you know will be broken by everyone?

Yes, every country in Europe should open their own coffeeshops. Especially Spain, France, Italy, Greece and other places where they have nice beaches.

 

[Guest]

you are forgetting portugal, my friend! come to see the beaches and you'll never forget it.
a coffee shop here would go trillionaire in no time. but portuguese policy is more entertained in closing down hospitals and schools than thinking about people. i'd open a coffee shop, i'm tired of my job anyway.


if belgium or germany will listen to this, i will seriously think again about this european union thing. but i doubt it, i seriously doubt it.

the thing that i never understood is this: if people consume anyway (underground or legally), why not defend people's health and legalize it all ? the only answer i can imagine is that the goverment itself sells the stuff and earn tax-free money. if this is not what happens, then i can only call them stupid. they would earn more money, people would be happier and underground selling of soft-drugs would dissapear. i just don't get it. is it because the cotton industry ? there are very few cotton fields in europe, or am i wrong ?
i guess if the "core" of the EU would join the cause, the small countries would follow. why don't you dutch people make that Leers guy your prime minister ? :lol:

 

[MindAstronaut]

why don't you dutch people make that Leers guy your prime minister ? :lol:

I would if i could but the only problem is that his party is really anti drugs, christen democrates i think they are. and he is the only guy who thinks like that.

Althrough he's mayor of Maastricht he cant do much without national approval from Den Hague.

 

[Pinealjerker]

the thing that i never understood is this: if people consume anyway (underground or legally), why not defend people's health and legalize it all ?

Because cannabis is a bigger threat to christianity than alcohol. It's too much of a threat to the pharmaceutical industry. It's too much of a threat to capitalism. As long as capitalism, christianity and the pharmaceutical inquisition reign supreme, cannabis will never be fully legalized.

i guess if the "core" of the EU would join the cause, the small countries would follow. why don't you dutch people make that Leers guy your prime minister?

There are still too many christians in this country. They're fucking up the world in the name of the Lord.

 

[Guest]

that's always the problem, we fuck up the world in the name of the Lord, instead of fucking the lord in the name of the world.
but i wish good luck for that idea, and i hope it comes ok.

 

[silv]

first ever cda politician sound of mind, rejoice!

 

[skoeip]

alcohol is part of christianity of course, the catholics go to church on sunday and recieve christs blood (a sip of red wine) and after church they al went to a bar (often located acros the street). so ofcourse a christian would not outban alcohol. but drugs, well thats a diferent matter, drugs are bad, acording to their teachings (dont know where it reads in the bible that drugs are bad but acording to almost al christians they are). and now one christian politician gets it but the rest of the cda does not believe in wat he believes.

 

[patilan420]

nope, in the bible they mention the "CANNOPUS" as an ingridient for sacred oil and sacred insence as part of healing and sacremental rituals, as representation of the Holly Spirit..
and the "grass ful of seeds" is mantioned in the very begining, in the sory of the creation.

The church authorities pretend that they can not read
:lol:

ontopick- the neighbouring to the Nederlands EU countries are loosing a LOT of BNP due to the diferent laws .. so either they will change their restrictive drug-regulations, either they will try to force presure to the Netherlands to change back to prohibition, which is not profitable for the dutch.
I've been in the Netherlands only once fot 2 weeks, but I saw how PRACTICAL the duch people are, they utilize all the good things in the most usefull way, and never make unneaded expences or miss shure proffit.

Just as ags ago the dutch was the first who alowed edition of the Galileo's book where it was written that the earth turns..

 

[Pinealjerker]

nope, in the bible they mention the "CANNOPUS" as an ingridient for sacred oil and sacred insence

Yes, it mentions 'kaneh-bosm' (fragrant cane), which was mistranslated to mean Calamus, but which has now been shown to have been Cannabis. You can read all about it here: http://www.cannabisculture.com/backissues/cc11/christ.html

 

[Jakobien]

The problem is, the christians and many EU politicians in other countries too, think that our societies have now too much freedom, and that people can't handle this amount of freedom. It shows in kids getting drunk at a younger age, consuming too much sugary and fat foods, having sex, experimenting with drugs and doing other - in their eyes - 'stupid' things. They blame the consumer society and the open-mindedness of Dutch parents... Their only solution is stricter laws and bans (instead of regulation).

I don't get it... the other solutions seem too complicated or too expensive to them? or do they think with these 'populist' measures they will win the votes of all the parents who think things are gettiing out of hand?

 

[Dantediv86]

The answer is very simple...keeping drugs illegal gives most of the polititians the assurance that the underground market flourishes and, trust me i know, there are way too many polititians who have either direct or inderect drug related businness. so it's of their big interest that most drugs remain illegal. and on the other hand the are sure that the common people won't start thinking "funny" things like : "shit man we are not free to do what we really want".
and many are afraid even between normal people that someone might start thinking indipendently...and yadayadaya ono and on it's a really long argument someone please take over and continue....

 

[B_Webber]

Belgium and Germany need to open their own 'coffee-shops' and regulate the sale of cannabis drugs so that fewer 'drugs-tourists' will be forced to cross the border to the Netherlands, the Mayor of the Dutch city of Maastricht says.

That’s Dutch matter-of-factly politic thinking. Quite unique in Europe, but easier said than done. To take a look at Germany, the Dutch coffee shop model at its current state wouldn’t fit into their standards. It’s still shady and unregulated and cultivation is still criminalized. Amendments to the "gedoogdbeleid" are long-needed.

Remember the "Deutsche Gründlichkeit"; it would at least last 10+ years to reform the narcotics law. Because Germany, on the one hand, makes a great deal of money with the cannabis prohibition, not only with criminal proceedings but also with driver’s license revocations and all the psychological testing implicated. But this doesn’t cover the costs for the prosecution, on the other hand. If tax receipts would do so, is questionable and would need a lot of rough calculations first. Well-regulated laws concerning cultivation, disposition and taxes would be necessary and therefore a lot of debates.

Also police agents became unemployed, according to the fact that in Germany 130.000 cannabis related offences average out at 110 Million € a year. Just imagine how many officers are needed to deal with the 131.587 offences, arisen in 2004. Should they re-educate all redundant police officers to ganja farmers or shop dealers?

Besides, the previous drug history causes a different thinking about the whole drug topic in German society. They brought the first Heroine on the market, in WWII half of the nation was up to meth and morphine and after war, Germany accepted every prohibition law the American liberators proposed. The (to) powerfull conservative and Christian party’s like CDU and CSU act like American lap dogs, so changes in the German cannabis policy are unlikely, unless other significant (European) countries would set a good example first. Unfortunately the Dutch example isn’t good enough right now.

In my opinion Dutch politicians would be better off by improving the existing shop model, in place off shifting the responsibility to the neighbour countries. Regulating the cannabis supply to eliminate the criminal circuit and taxation may be the first necessary steps, in order to obtain international acceptance for our unique (and praised) soft drug policy.

By the way, this is my first post. Hoi ihr Nutten

 

[Dantediv86]

nicely put and i agree on the point that all prohibied substances make big money and businness and more power than legalized and monopolyzed substances.
btw welcome

 

[scotmark]

Bayern,Germany has draconian anti-drugs laws, times are changing and things need to lighten up here, by fae the worst place to live if you like a spliff.

Spain, fantastic Grew my own weed in my garden :lol: Out there they take a very relaxed view on dope, its nit even really a crime to smoke in the street, normally a small fine, if the cops bother.

Ive gone from one extreme to the other and its eye opening...

 

[ararat]

Coffeeshops now are only allowed to hold 30 grams on stock.

Though I'm proud of our Dutch drug policy, compared to other countries, these kinds of rules are still embarrasing. 30 grams, that's 10 customers! Why make laws you know will be broken by everyone?

Yes, every country in Europe should open their own coffeeshops. Especially Spain, France, Italy, Greece and other places where they have nice beaches.

austria too, we have wonderful mountains and lakes :lol: and old citys.


the czech republic already took one step in the right direction: you are allowed to smoke (even in public, that was great, in front of all those old buildings) and possess weed (don't ask me how much). but if you are low on weed, just go outside, and after 15 minutes somebody will ask you if you want to buy some. the first day we've been there we were asked ~12 times if we want to buy weed (we were 5 people). as this was a school trip to prague, one guy asked our teacher if we (a group of ~22 people) want to buy a kilogram :lol:

 

[ararat]

Coffeeshops now are only allowed to hold 30 grams on stock.

Though I'm proud of our Dutch drug policy, compared to other countries, these kinds of rules are still embarrasing. 30 grams, that's 10 customers! Why make laws you know will be broken by everyone?

Yes, every country in Europe should open their own coffeeshops. Especially Spain, France, Italy, Greece and other places where they have nice beaches.

sry for the doublepost, but something funny came to my mind:

there are tropic dutch islands (sint maarten for example, but the other half is french :lol
look for the island in google earth (if you don't have it, get it. it's worth the time, I love it)
anyway, technically the dutch laws should apply to this island too, and you could be able to legally smoke a joint at the beach of fort amsterdam

hrhr

 

[Guest]

Damn, why didn't we think of that! LOL!

Hmmm, should get into that, maybe plan a psychonaut.com vacation :mrgreen: :roll: