12 February 06 - 14:48Dutch approach
When you're a Dutchman abroad people sooner or later tend to start asking questions about coffee shops and the general drug policy in the Netherlands. Together with our euthanasia and same sex marriage laws it is amongst the best known pieces of legislation in the world. Controversial because they reflect the liberal stance of the lawmakers in favour of the individual’s right to make his own decisions. The legalization of prostitution is another example of this pragmatic approach: if a problem has proved to be unstoppable, it is better to try controlling it instead of continuing to enforce laws that have shown to be unable to stop the problem.
With regard to drugs in short the policy comes down to this: First, there is a distinction between hard drugs which are highly addictive (cocaine, heroin etc) and soft drugs (marihuana, cigarettes). Second, drug use is not so much a criminal matter as it is a public health issue (with sometimes criminal implications).
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