heavycola wrote:Snorri, or indeed any other of our dutch brothers and sisters:
What have the social and/or economic conseqeunces of decriminalising cannabis been in the Netherlands?
Is everyone too stoned? Is there more or less crime? more or less problems with hard drugs?
That sort of thing.
I am interested. And sober.
I have never been in Holland, but have lived in another area noted for its (albiet illegal) use of pot. I have seen go from something that "yea old hippies" would grow in their backyards to high crime. What caused it? Reagan's anti marihauna campaign. When the property seizure laws came into play we started seeing folks growing in public lands (forest, range, etc.). They would protect their crops with traps not seen since vietnahm, according to a lot of ex vets.
Interestingly, it wasn't so long ago that farmers were paid by the government to grow hemp(close relative, if you aren't aware ... so close that it is essentially the same plant), used then for rope. Hemp, devoid of the "toxin" (yeah, I know no fun, but anyway ...) is a nutritious food item, the fibers make wonderfully durable and practical clothing. One acre of hemp will replace a huge number of acres of forest for paper (I think around 50, but cannot find reference)
I was always on the fence about this up until I attended an alternative energy rally. One of the booths was in favor of hemp uses, expounding on its positive uses. Downtown, there were protestors with signs saying "say no to drugs". I went closer, expecting to see some fellow church members or such. I did not recognize one... not a SINGLE ONE. It turns out they were all PAID EMPLOYEES of a big paper mill nearby. Why? Because hemp is a direct competitor of wood pulp for paper. Except... they were not saying "save our jobs". No, they used "drugs" as the issue. I have found far too much of that kind of hypocrisy in this issue.
Further, as an EMT, though we often sw results of drunk drivers, we did not see the same effects from marihuana. NOW, that was a few years ago. Teh stuff available now is much stronger and, I have heard DOES impair driving. However, back then, it didn't.
I wish it were legalized, taxed and regulated like alchohol.