Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jun 2003
Source: Union-News (MA)
Copyright: 2003 Union-News
Contact:  http://www.masslive.com/unionnews/index.ssf
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/860
Author: Associated Press

BAN LEAVES POT SMOKERS ON OUTSIDE

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The latest news from the mecca of marijuana users 
is a real mind-blower. Under a new ban on smoking in public places, Dutch 
coffee shops will be allowed to sell joints, but their customers will have 
to go outside to smoke them.

To the chagrin of the owners of the country's popular smoking 
establishments, national health guidelines due to take effect next January 
seem to be inadvertently striking the heart of the liberal Dutch drugs policy.

The first coffee shop selling marijuana and hashish opened in the 
Netherlands in 1972 and they now number more than 800 countrywide. In 
Amsterdam, millions of tourists a year sample the vast varieties advertised 
on menus.

In addition to selling small quantities of what the Dutch call"soft-drugs," 
many coffee shops also offer patrons comfortable couches, fresh fruit 
juices and board games. Alcohol is generally forbidden.

Reactions in Dutch coffee shops ranged from utter amazement to concern 
about what will happen to the three-decade-old tradition in Amsterdam of 
social pot smoking. "They've got to be out of their minds," laughed 
Annemiek van Royan, a regular at the "Kashmir Lounge" coffee shop in West 
Amsterdam.

Health Ministry spokesman Bas Kuik said the law was not intended to target 
coffee shops, and - as in all public areas - they could have designated 
smoking areas.

The sale of marijuana is officially illegal, but its use has been 
decriminalized. Studies show that use of such drugs is no greater in the 
Netherlands than in countries where its is banned.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens