From: jkp@cs.HUT.FI (Jyrki Kuoppala)
Subject: Hollanti ja huumeongelmat? (Re: Huumausainelains{{d{nt|)
Reply-To: jkp@cs.HUT.FI (Jyrki Kuoppala)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Distribution: sfnet
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 14:53:30 GMT

>Onko Hollannissa huumeongelma? Jos on/ei niin mist{ se johtuu? Mihin
>suuntaan siell{ pit{isi tilannetta muuttaa, sallivammaksi vai
>tiukemmaksi, ja mill{ tavoilla?

En ole kovin paljon perehtynyt tilanteeseen - televisiosta tulleessa
Strawberry Fields -dokumentissa tunnuttiin olevan sit{ mielt{ ett{
tilanne on kohtuullisen hyvin hallinnassa ja varsinkin kannabiksen
osalta politiikka on hyv{.  Ohjelmassa haastateltu yksi poliisimies
sanoi ett{ ns. kovien aineiden kanssa (joiden osalta suhtautuminen on
varsin ankaraa) ehk{ tehd{{n t{ll{ hetkell{ samaa virhett{ kuin
kannabiksen kanssa aikanaan ja lievemp{{ lains{{d{nt|{ pit{isi ehk{
soveltaa ns. koviinkin aineisiin.

Liit{n t{h{n pitk{n p{tk{n tietoa Hollannin suhtautumisesta, kun
kaikki eiv{t kuitenkaan ole aiheeseen perehtyneet.  Ehk{ siin{ on
lis{valaistusta kysymykseesikin.

From: karol@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Karol Gieszczykiewicz)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Marijuana in Holland
Date: 2 Feb 92 23:02:11 GMT
Organization: UserConsultant@LawSchool


	Hi, everyone, I asked about the freedom herb on socculture 
Netherlands, and those lucky folx told me the following: 
Soc.culture.Netherlands, and they gave me the following on the 
	Marijuana is illegal in the Netherlands. However, the official
policy of the Dutch Ministry of Justice is to focus on the big 
traders and smugglers. At dealer level a distinction is made
between soft drug (cannabis, hash) and hard drug (heroine, cocaine, etc.).
Soft drugs dealers are left alone, as long as they do not vend any
hard drugs. If they do (it sometimes happens) and the 
police finds out then they're out of business (and more...)!

The net result of this policy is:
- All major cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Arnhem, Groningen,...)
  have numerous so-called coffeeshops where one can get coffee and soft drugs.
  These shops are recognizable for anyone who pays attention. Most often,
  they carry a cannabis leave at the shopwindow or have names like
  "Pink <Something>".
- Prices are much lower than in surrounding countries.
- The quality of the soft drugs is better, especially that of
  Dutch-grown cannabis.
- People who use cannabis do not automatically come in touch with hard drugs,
  hence there are relatively very little drug addicts in the Netherlands.
  There is clearly a fall in the number of new drug addicts: the average
  drugs addict is aged mid-thirty, and addicted for several years.

For some time now there are discussions about legalizing soft drugs
completely. It would make things like quality control and taxation possible.
Quality control is very much needed since an estimated 0.5 to 1% of the
population uses more or less regularly cannabis products.

I think the main reason allout legalization is not to be expected is that
the Netherlands have to comply with a couple of international treaties 
on drugs.
Pressures of other countries (Germany, USA) are such that I do not
see the Netherlands skipping certain paragraphs of those treaties.

Andre Koster
The Netherlands
andre@cv.ruu.nl


____________So, there you have it, Andre has answered that perplexing
question once and for all. I don't know about you, but I am catching 
the first plane from Pissburgh, Pa to Amsterdam!     
-- 
Karol Gieszczykiewicz 
karol@unix.pitt.cis
		"Legalize it and I will advertize it.." 
				Peter Tosh, 1976 
From: andersom@spot.Colorado.EDU (Marc Anderson)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: please help
Date: 3 Apr 92 19:53:59 GMT
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder

In article <ktmff1INNbn3@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu> etheridg@duncan.cs.utk.edu (Jennifer Etheridge) writes:
>I'm hoping some of you out there can help me. My husband
>is writing a paper on marijuana for a zoology class. And
>somethings that I have mentioned seeing here have sparked
>his interest. But he needs concrete references.
>
>I remember seeing a list of drugs and their death rates. I
>know the list included alcohol, heroin, cocaine, marijuana
>and aspirin. I do not remember which other drugs were
>included on the list. If someone could repost or email me
>this list along with a reference I would be most appreciative.
>
>Also, I'm hoping someone could recommend any articles, books, 
>etc. concerning the situation in the Netherlands. 
>
>One last request. Could someone repost or email me an article 
>about Proposition P (I believe that is what it was called) in San
>Francisco (I believe that's where it was.)?
>
>Thank you very much. My husband thanks you as well.
>
>Jennifer Finger
>jenn@msr.epm.ornl.gov or etheridg@duncan.cs.utk.edu
>

oh boy .. i got tons 'o stuff I could send but am not too sure what all you
want.  health stuff?  medical uses?  ecological uses? -- for now, here is
some stuff on Holland and I believe the drug stats that you wanted:

-marc
andersom@spot.colorado.edu


--- cut here ---
This is from someone who wishes to remain anonymous.  I thought
you might find it interesting.

~Subject: Marijuana Use in the Netherlands
Keywords: Netherlands' Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs

For those of you who don't know, the Dutch have a very liberal marijuana
policy.  While it is technically illegal, it is widely tolerated.  Many
of the small coffee shops sell it openly, often offering a 'catalog' of
various types and varieties.  There are even several seed suppliers
who advertise in the U.S. in HIGH TIMES magazine.  For about $50 you
can order just about any variety of cannabis seeds you want.

Oh yeah, the report:

A study of marijuana use by adolescents and young adults was undertaken
in 1985 by the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Alcohol and Drug
Use.  The Dutch government requested the research as a result of 
international disapproval of their liberal marijuana policy.  This
disapproval was reflected in the United Nations International Narcotics
Control Board's demand of the Dutch for an explanation of their policy.
The two countries that protested the Dutch policy the most were Norway
and the Federal Republic of Germany, both with distinctly repressive
drug policies.

The report, entitled "The use of Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco" surveyed
1300 people aged 15 to 24 years in the Netherlands about their use of
various drugs.

While marijuana use by young people differed widely amoung varing age
groups, regions, and municipality size, use did not appreciably change
when the categories are compared between 1976 and 1985.  It was in 1976
that the Netherlands enacted a form of decriminalization of cannabis in
the Amendment of the Opium Act.  Cannabis has been sold in cafes and
youth centers (!) since 1978.

A study done in 1976 was compared with the current report.  There has been
no marked increase in the prevalence of cannabis use amoung those adolescents
aged 15 to 18.  In 1976, 3% of the 15 and 16 year olds and 10% of the 17
and 18 year olds had used cannabis at some time.  The new figures are
2% and 6% respectively, showing a decline over the years since the liberal
policy was placed in effect.

When the whole sample is combined, 12% of the of the people aged 15 to 24
had used marijuana at some point.  Only 5% of the sample were current
cannabis users, thus over half of those that tried it did not continue
their use.  Only 1.6% of the sample were regular users (once a week or
more).  The 88% of the people who had never used cannabis did not seem
inclined to do so.  Of this group, 83% did not think it was wise and
70% dissapproved of the practice.

Comparing these figures to adolescent use in the US results in the 
unarguable conclusion that that American kids use more marijuana than
young people in the Netherlands.  According to the most recent report
by the Federal Government, in 1985 54% had tried marijuana, 25.7% are
current users and 5% are daily users.  This compares to 12%, 5% and
1.6% for similar categories in the Netherlands.  

The report found that age made a difference in use.  Only 2% of the 15
and 16 year olds had used cannabis at some time, while 30% of the 23 and
24 year olds had.  The population of the municipality made a large difference
in use rates.  In towns with populations of five to ten thousand, 4% of
the young people had used cannabis at some time.  This compares with
12% in towns with 50K to 100K and 30% in cities of 500K or more.  Unlike
alcohol or tobacco, sex did not seem to play a factor in cannabis use.

Many interesting areas were explored in the study.  It found that amoung
current users, those who used it most frequently described their parental
relationships as being less satisfactory than those who used it less
frequently.  A higher incidence of parental divorce was also found amoung
current users as compared with non-users.  The report also found 90% of
cannabis users said heroin was the most harmful drug.  Cannabis users also
believe alcohol is far more harmful than marijuana.  Interestingly, more
users identified coffee, tea and nicotine as drugs than non-users.

The survey found no relationship between the use of cannabis products and
educational achievement, neither was their any difference between users
and non-users in regards to the extent to which they enjoyed going to
work or school.  There is no detectable link between the number of
involvements with the police in the course of the previous year and the
use or non-use of cannabis; nor had the users been to the doctor more
often than the other respondents.



Article 11270 of alt.drugs:
Xref: ucsu alt.drugs:11270 talk.politics.drugs:4850 sci.med:9981