Pubdate: Wed, 13 Nov 2002
Source: Taipei Times, The (Taiwan)
Copyright: 2002 The Taipei Times
Contact:  http://www.taipeitimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1553

CANNABIS TRADE GETS DUTCH ECONOMY HIGH

Bloomberg

In a bright yellow room dotted with multicolored suns, Barney's Breakfast 
Bar serves eggs, pancakes, and the house special -- Sweet Tooth, the best 
marijuana on sale in Amsterdam.

At least that's what the judges at the Cannabis Cup decided last year. Now, 
Barney's and its coffee-shop rivals are gearing up for this year's edition 
of the contest. Beginning Nov. 24, close to 3,000 marijuana fans will spend 
five days in Amsterdam rating the very best in cannabis. That means a boom 
in business for the shop owners and for the Dutch economy.

"There's great demand for the winning product," said Derry Brett, a former 
engineer and the owner of Barney's. His shop has no corners; the fluid 
shapes create the feeling of floating when high, Brett said. "Cannabis is a 
huge business for Amsterdam," Winning the cup can increase a shop's sales 
by as much as 50 percent, the event's organizer said. The 1976 
decriminalization of smoking marijuana contributed to the Dutch economy. 
Drugs were a 1.4 billion euro (US$1.36 billion) business worth 0.5 percent 
of gross domestic product in 1995, the last time the government collected 
such figures.

"It is a huge industry and growing," said Peter Cohen, an associate 
professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam. "Cannabis creates 
jobs and income for people who may not otherwise have jobs, who then pay 
taxes to the government."

The government also collects taxes on income from marijuana -- as much as 
52 percent depending on a shop's take.

"The Dutch government is doing so well with drug tourism," said Mike 
Esterson, the Cannabis Cup's promoter and organizer. "It's a cash cow for 
everyone involved."

A gram of marijuana sold in an Amsterdam coffee shop costs between 5 and 10 
euros. Most shops also offer pre-rolled joints at an average price of 3 
euros. Such sales can bring in more than a million euros a year for a shop, 
academics and economists estimated.

For every 20 euros a tourist spends stocking up on White Widow, White Smurf 
or Warlock marijuana, he or she spends 200 euros on food and lodging in the 
city, coffee-shop owners estimated. The 10.1 million visitors of all kinds 
who visited the Netherlands in 1999 spent 2.45 billion euros.

"It is certain that many tourists come to the city to see the deviance 
here, the drugs, the prostitution," said Peter Cohen, an associate 
professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam.

The Cannabis Cup, first held in 1987, boasts its own headquarters, travel 
agency and concert program. And it's growing: Twenty-six of Amsterdam's 
coffee shops, the most the cup has ever hosted, will this year present 
their best specimens for critique.

Judges -- that means anyone who pays US$225 for the right to vote on Betty 
Boop's Bubble Gum marijuana and Bushmaster's Kali Mist hash -- have five 
days to sample the goods from the shops and vote in the Cup's headquarters.

The judges, mostly Americans, are transported by bus from the home office 
to the doors of each shop. They're asked to avoid other mind- altering 
substances, such as caffeine and alcohol.

While Dutch law permits the smoking of marijuana, it's illegal and 
punishable by law to grow more than 5 plants. Growing more than 1,000 
plants is subject to a fine of as much as 125,000 euros and up to 6 months 
in prison. The possession and sale of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin 
are also illegal.

Proprietors must have a license to sell marijuana, and while some have a 
license to also sell alcohol, most can only sell beverages like tea, coffee 
or juice. Other shops in the country are allowed to sell hallucinogenic 
mushrooms and herbal ecstasy.

The government monitors the coffee shops to see that the rules of the 
license are being followed.
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