Pubdate: Fri, 21 May 2004
Source: Sofia Echo, The (Bulgaria)
Contact:  http://www.sofiaecho.com
Address: 9A San Stefano St. 3rd Floor, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria
Fax: (+359 2) 944 3937
Authors: Marlene Smits, Koos Schouten
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Amsterdam (Amsterdam)

READING ROOM - DUTCH JOINT STATEMENTS

Following the recent controversy in the pages of The Sofia Echo about 
Bulgaria's new law that will mean that even those caught with only a single 
dose of marijuana could be sent to jail, two Dutch-born expat contributors 
to The Echo, MARLENE SMITS and KOOS SCHOUTEN, give their perspectives.

Marlene Smits:

IN 1976, the Dutch government decided to decriminalise marijuana for 
basically two reasons; to counter illegal trade and criminality, and in 
order to separate the soft and hard drug markets.

The result was clearly not successful, as one can witness in Amsterdam. The 
fact is that most hard drug users also keep using cannabis, which means 
both types of users frequently meet in coffee shops. Frequent users of 
cannabis decide more easily to use hard drugs.

That's why the markets of hard and soft drugs were never really separated. 
A Dutch politician, from the VVD party, Otto Vos concluded from special 
research that: "25 years of decriminalisation has led to a serious rise in 
crime rates". So the Dutch lost on both counts. The number of coffee shops 
has grown substantially in the past 20 years and they have been known to 
cause problems for people in their neighbourhoods, and to sell hard drugs 
and export soft drugs. So the Dutch are left with drug tourists who flood 
Amsterdam and the Dutch cities on the border with Germany.

On a personal note:

I was born in Holland and for the past 10 years of my life, I have lived in 
Amsterdam. It wasn't a pretty sight. I know that the Dutch are very proud 
of their capital, but I see absolutely no reason for pride. Amsterdam has 
become a magnet for degenerates of all kind. If one thinks it's normal that 
people smoke heroin on public transport at three o'clock in the afternoon, 
near school children, Amsterdam is your city. But what has this to do with 
marijuana, one asks. In my opinion, a lot!

There is no junkie on earth that started his life of drugs with crack or speed.

They all started smoking weed or hash. I had acquainted myself with 
marijuana and hash a long time before I moved to Amsterdam. Most of my 
friends were smoking it and growing it.

I even had a girlfriend whose parents were hippies and who were growing it 
in their vegetable garden. Then there were my other friends who were 
growing weed under lamps, massive amounts.

They were very scientific about it and it resulted in a very strong weed. 
Two of them were suffering from schizophrenia and psychosis, which is quite 
something when you are 15.

Looking back I realise that's it's not surprising they had this mental 
condition. They were smoking day in day out, year in year out. I was 
smoking as well. But at the point where most of my friends went from weed 
or hash to LSD or ecstasy, I stopped smoking.

One of my friends was admitted into a mental institution with severe 
depression. I stopped seeing her and moved to Amsterdam. There I was a 
witness to very disturbing and crazy things; once, when I was waiting on 
Dam Square for my girlfriend, a junkie tried to hit me with an electric 
guitar. I was happy I wasn't wearing high heels, so that I could run faster 
than him. And I had people shooting up on my doorstep many times. I lived 
in one of the best neighbourhoods of the city, but this made absolutely no 
difference.

Apart from being confronted with drugs every day, the city gets really 
dangerous because of the junkies, who can turn aggressive, and because of 
the tourists who don't know how to handle drugs. Most people are so scared 
that nobody dares to do anything when an incident occurs. Or they just 
don't care. There was a junkie in the tram once who randomly started 
hitting people. But nobody did anything.

Then there are those occasions where literally everybody is on drugs, like 
on the gay parade and queens day. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very well 
aware of the differences between soft and hard drugs, but to me they are 
interlinked.

When one starts to tolerate soft drugs, one is also one step closer to hard 
drugs. And this means that you have to live in a society where an 
80-year-old grandmother can score heroin quicker than a tab of aspirin. 
Nobody should want this. Therefore I am in favour of the new drug law in 
Bulgaria as long as the Government gives priority to putting a dealer 
behind bars, rather than a 15-year-old kid who just wanted to be cool.

Cannabis can cause psychoses:

Trimbos Instituut (Dutch Knowledge Centre for Mental Health Care) concluded 
in October 2003 that smoking marijuana increases chances of psychoses for 
everybody.

Facts:

* "The percentage of Dutch cannabis users in the general population aged 12 
and above showed a slight increase between 1997 and 2001."

* "The Netherlands has the second largest percentage of ever users of 
cocaine in the European Union, and the fourth largest number of current 
users." Which means that decriminalising cannabis has no positive effect on 
the number of hard drug users.

Source: Annual report 2002 of the National Drug Monitor, an initiative of 
the Dutch ministry of health, welfare and sports.

There are studies like the one by the ministry of health, welfare and 
sports of 1995, in which is stated that the figure of heroin and cocaine 
users under the age of 21 in Holland is relatively low (what is implied is 
that this is thanks to the decriminalisation of cannabis). And I do believe 
this, because heroin is too scary for non-junkies, and cocaine too 
expensive for kids. They are on ecstasy, GHB, speed and different types of 
LSD, these types of drugs however were not included in this research.

Koos Schouten:

AFTER reading the dialogue between my fellow Sofia Echo columnist Michael 
Harris Cohen and Soundingboarder Danny Dresser (The Echo, April 16) I felt 
obliged to jump into the ring. I was born and raised in one of the capitals 
of drugs and vice; Amsterdam.

One thing I will not do, for a change, is quote the web sites of welfare 
organisations or of institutions of higher learning. I had the dubious 
privilege to watch with my own eyes the damage done to whole generations of 
bright young teenagers by so-called "soft" drugs. The fact that Michael 
Harris Cohen likes to inhale has absolutely nothing to do with the sad 
reality that, unlike him, many young teenagers have no choice in their 
minds whether to inhale or not. The peer pressure that these children 
experience is so immense that the opinion of adults makes absolutely no 
difference.

The only pressure that can possibly counter this peer pressure is fear of 
the judicial system. I would like to recommend that the Government look 
into creating a points system for teenagers, with punishments such as 
community service. Cleaning streets together with the current usually Roma 
workers will not only be a sobering experience but will also help them 
realise some of their future career options if they end up unqualified and 
stoned. For dealers of any kind of drugs, I think the re-institution of 
labour camps would work really well, it will encourage many to seek other 
kinds of employment.

Just from my entry class of about 30 children into one of the finest 
Amsterdam High Schools (Berlage), only a handful graduated. The drop-out 
rate was enormous. I agree that not all can be attributed to drugs, but the 
numbers were staggering. The main reason for this was the over-relaxed 
attitude that was created by smoking dope. The lifestyle of hard working 
students was changed to one of relaxation and fun. The level of academic 
achievement in Amsterdam plummeted to all time lows and has never been 
re-achieved.

Bulgaria cannot afford to have entire generations start relaxing their 
current high level of academic achievements. Bulgaria cannot afford to see 
thousands of children become zombies in mental institutions like some of my 
class-mates. Bulgaria cannot afford to trade in its values and its hopes 
for a better future in exchange for being cool and stoned.

The greatest natural resource this country has is its high level of 
education with a motivated youth that wants to become part of all that is 
good in the democratic world. This, by the way, is the very basis of my 
company's choice of Bulgaria. I know it is much more fashionable to be 
critical of strong government than to admit that once in a while we need to 
have our civil rights adjusted in order to have a better future.

I therefore compliment the Bulgarian Government on its strong plans to 
institute a culture of zero tolerance in the hope that this can help to 
avoid the heartbreaking experiences I saw first hand in Holland.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Thunder