Pubdate: Sat, 09 Mar 2002
Source: Press & Journal (UK)
Copyright: 2002: Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/347
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

CANNABIS CAFE ROW AFTER POLICE DRUGS TALK

A DUTCH police officer invited to speak to a gathering of Scotland's top 
drugs police caused a major row yesterday by predicting the introduction of 
cannabis cafes north of the border.

The Scottish Police Drugs Conference in Dunblane was told by Dutch police 
inspector Ton Snip that cannabis coffee shops could be expected to appear 
on street corners in the main cities within just "one or two years".

Inspector Snip - an officer for 20 years with Dutch police and 10 years 
with the Dutch drugs squad - warned delegates at the conference, organised 
by Scotland's chief police officers, that the pressure for legalisation of 
cannabis was irresistible.

He claimed that cannabis cafes had been responsible for preventing football 
riots and would actually stop young people progressing to hard drugs like 
heroin and cocaine.

His views were immediately condemned by senior officers and by Scotland 
Against Drugs, which said cannabis cafes would make the country a Mecca for 
drug tourism.

Insp Snip told the second day of the conference "Cannabis cafes would 
probably work in Scotland. It is a good system for Holland.

"We see young people coming from Scotland to our country and the first 
thing they do is go to the cannabis coffee shops.

"If the public wants to have this kind of coffee shops, then they will 
come. I think it will happen sooner than everyone thinks.

"I would say that the first one will open in the next year or two years and 
after that it will go rapidly, with coffee shops opening all over 
Scotland,' he said.

'Young people are looking for something and they will ex-periment.

'The first drug they take is cannabis. If we can make coffee shops as safe 
as possible, we believe that the experimental phase will end when they stop 
using cannabis.

"Some young people go on to use other drugs, but most do not. Most get on 
with their lives.

"The young people are not stupid, but you must influence their attitude 
towards drugs so that they get the right information and they can decide 
for themselves whether they will use drugs."

Insp Snip said that during the European football championships, which took 
place in Holland and Belgium in 2000, cafes were successfully kept open for 
English fans.

He said: 'There was a big debate about whether to keep the coffee shops 
open during Euro 2000, but the fans of England and other, countries came 
and we had no problems, because cannabis has a calming effect on people."

Conference chairman Jim Orr, director of the Scottish Drug Enforcement 
Agency, said Insp Snip's presentation had been "interesting". He said: 
'Cannabis use is illegal in the United Kingdom and certainly it is illegal 
to supply cannabis from a cafe or any other premises.

"There is a danger in looking at cannabis cafes as an instant solution. 
 From our viewpoint, all drugs are dangerous."

Director of Scotland Against Drugs Alastair Ramsay warned, however, that 
Scotland could attract thousands of unwelcome drugs tourists if cannabis 
cafes were introduced,

He said: "I went across to Holland, to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and, by and 
large, the people there are saying they don't like all the foreign 
na-tionals coming over and smoking cannabis in the cannabis cafes.

"They don't like it and they don't want it to continue. I think the Dutch 
experience would be replicated here. If we had cannabis cafes, we would see 
people coming to Scotland from all over to take drugs."

Plans for a cannabis cafe in Dundee were announced last year and 
immediately con-demned as illegal by Tayside Police.

The Scottish-based Medical Marijuana Co-operative (MMCO) said it was 
searching for premises in the city.

A similar plan was put forward for Edinburgh.

The UK's first marijuana cafe The Dutch Experience - opened in Stockport, 
Greater Manchester, in September.

Despite police intervention and an initial flurry of arrests, it continues 
to operate.
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MAP posted-by: Beth