Pubdate: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 Source: Herald, The (UK) Copyright: 2000 The Herald Contact: 195 Albion Street Glasgow G1 1QP Fax: +44 (0)141 302 7809 Website: http://www.theherald.co.uk/ Author: Lynne Robertson DUTCH CAFE CULTURE MAY NOT BE RIGHT FOR EXPORT FOR cannabis users the registered coffee houses of Amsterdam, which legally sell small quantities of the drug, represent the fulfilment of a dream. As the debate continues to rage over the legalisation, decriminalisation and downgrading of cannabis in the list of controlled drugs, a research trip to the Dutch capital proved a fascinating study for the Chief Constable of Fife, John Hamilton. Charged with the task of examining the experience of a nation with roughly the population of Scotland in tackling aspects of the drugs war, the police chief was researching the issue through his membership of the Police Foundation, the Government-appointed committee which called for a radical review of the UK's drugs laws earlier this week. He found that, while Holland had a reputation for liberal drugs rules, the real picture provided a different experience. While the numbers of registered coffee shops in Amsterdam has fallen from 452 in 1994 to 279 more recently, the culture still thrives. Despite tolerance of the establishments, they are still very much back street "seedy" ventures, he said. A "menu" at one coffee shop revealed that up to 20 different strains of the drug were available at prices ranging from just UKP3 to UKP33, without the risk of police intervention. The business, he explained, has become very official, with the hundreds of retailers involved in the trade paying taxes on their sales and with the representation of their own professional body. While the sale of cannabis is tolerated, Mr Hamilton emphasised that this did not mean wholesale approval of all drugs. "Although it is the general perception that the Dutch law is more lenient than ours, it is equally as strong and equally as punitive. "They have looked to target and manage the problem in the main centres rather than go to a pure law enforcement model. They don't license coffee shops. They register them." Mr Hamilton said he visited three very different establishments on a Thursday evening and described the atmosphere as non-threatening. "It was a relaxed atmosphere that you would find in any good pub." Strict controls ensured the coffee houses had not become havens for illegal trade, he added. "The running of the coffee shops are subject to a number of rules which are drawn up by local police. They state that no more than 5g can be sold in any one transaction. No hard drugs or any sort of cannabis can be sold if the premises are closed. "Of course, no drugs can be sold to minors under the age of 18. No minors are allowed into the premises." Mr Hamilton admitted he had grappled with the double standards of the system, which would allow the drug to be sold but where the supply of cannabis remained a crime. While the Dutch approach has been built on foundations established in the culture of the 1960s and 1970s, he was not convinced it should be replicated. "The whole idea of the Dutch attitude is to create a distinction between hard and soft drugs, and the evidence is that has been achieved in the drugs scene because the level of heroin use is less proportionately to what it is in the UK. There is less evidence of people progressing from cannabis into drugs such as heroin. "I don't think that we can radically say that the Dutch experience should necessarily be copied . . . I don't think it is easily transferrable to a country like Britain, where our experience has been somewhat different." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake