Comparing the Netherlands to the United States in regards to Marijuana Policy
...kground role in religious or moral issues. A cherished feature of Dutch society is the free and open discussion of such issues. A high value is attached to the well-being of society as a whole, the extensive social security system and the fact that everyone has access to health care and education backs up this belief. During the 1970’s, a violent heroin market led the Dutch government to establish a group to work on drug policies, which came to be known as the Baan Commission. Its recommendations largely determined the course of the Netherlands’ drug policy. The core features of the Dutch system as established by the Baan Commission are rooted in the concept of harm reduction, i.e., the minimization of the risks and hazards of drug use rather than the suppression of all drugs. Dutch drug policy gives priority to health care and prevention while, simultaneously, directing aggressive enforcement measures against organized crime. A key aspect of Dutch drug policy is the notion of market separation. By classifying drugs according to the risks posed and then pursuing policies that serve to isolate each market, it is felt that users of soft drugs are less likely to come into contact with users of hard drugs. Thus, the theory, users of soft drugs such as marijuana, are less likely to try hard drugs, thereby questioning marijuana’s classification of “gateway drug”. Possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use has been decriminalized in the Netherlands. The sale of cannabis is technically an offence under the Opium Act, but prosecutorial guidelines provide that proceedings will only be instituted in certain situations. An operator or owner of a coffee shop (which is not permitted to sell alcohol) will avoid prosecution if he/she meets the following criteria; no more than 5 grams per person may be sold in any one transaction, no “hard” drugs may be sold, drugs may not be advertised, the coffee shop must not cause any nuisance, no drugs can be sold to minors (under age 18), nor may minors enter the premises, and the municipality must not order the establishment closed. Separating the markets by allowing people to purchase soft drugs in a setting where they are not exposed to the criminal subculture surrounding hard drugs is intended to create a social barrier that prevents people experimenting with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, drugs deemed an “unacceptable risk”. Decriminalization of the possession of soft drugs for personal use and the toleration of sales in controlled circumstances has not resulted in a worryingly high level of consumption among young people. The extent and nature of the use of soft drugs does not differ from the pattern in other Western countries. As for hard drugs, the number of addicts in the Netherlands is low compared with the rest of Europe, considerably lower than that in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Dutch rates of drug use per capita, are lower than U.S. rates in every category. Holland has led the way in cannabis reform since it amended its Opium Act in 1976 to distinguish among drugs according to levels of risk. Identifying cannabis as a "soft drug," the Dutch government decided to treat possession and cultivation of up to 30 grams as activities deemed unsuitable for penalty or arrest. This policy of tolerance paved the way for the "coffee shop system" of publicly distributing both marijuana and hashish. With such starkly contrasting drug policies as those of the U.S.A.’s and Holland’s, one would expect use trends to be fundamentally different. Recent studies show that drug use rates in the U.S. actually mirror or exceed those of Holland. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as of July 2004, the resident population of the United States is 293,027,571 people occupying 9,631,418 square kilometers (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html). The United States was founded on individual freedoms which the government has infringed upon only as much as it has deemed necessary. U.S. citizens believe strongly in inventiveness, entrepreneurship, and human initiative and hold the U.S. government to high standards of ethics, open information sharing, and fairness. America’s current attitude on prohibition however, seems to rely on the belief that relaxed policies would lead to greater use. The Dutch experience however, contradicts this assumption. When marijuana use was decriminalized in Holland in 1976, use rates remained the same! It was not until “coffee shops” became widespread in cities such as Amsterdam, that use rates began to increase. Despite fundamentally different approaches to marijuana policy, Americans still statistically use more per capita than the Dutch. Lynn Zimmer, co-author of Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts asks, “If the Dutch are using less marijuana, what purpose was served by arresting 642,000 Americans for possessing marijuana last year?” However, misinformation continues to dominate the U.S. government’s official position on drug policy. One example is a statement made by former U.S. ...