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Neither Canada or Holland have ever legalised cannabis, contary to most peoples thoughts.
The Swiss had the good sense to avoid the whole UN thing, in fact they have only very recently even bothered attending any of it. So no, they didn't sign and they can legalise without any serious problems.
I know it's not "legal" in Holland or Canada per se, but it's tolerated in designated places. Why couldn't we adopt the same system? Or does the treatie break our balls on that issue too?
You still have no quality control and all the large trade is still in the hands of nasty gangster types.
I'm waiting for the Swiss to totally legalise it, which they probably will in the next few years or so. Their example will be a very useful one.
Guess who owns the shop ..........
Exactly. All the commercial growing and importing of hashish are still illegal, small scale farming isnt technically a crime but its close to being one because you cant pay tax.
So yes, your friendly local dealer is replaced by a shop, but the wholesalers are still there and still nasty.
Good point. But they wouldn't all be like that. Hopefully.
I just think it's a real shame the way things are just now. I would quite happilly rather go to a nice quiet cafe and have a smoke and maybe a pint than go out and get wrecked at some club.
I'm not suggesting that decriminalisation hasnt got advantages over the current situation, with sales conducted relatively in the open then choice would drive up quality. However there still wouldnt be any control over pesticides and fertilisers used, for example.
The big money would still be in the hands of nasty folk though.
Capitalism and business are nasty, but at least they're regulated (sort of)
Exactly, I wasnt suggesting that legal supply would be 100% perfect, but you would be able to introduce quality controls, something which is sadly lacking.
I think that's what I was trying to get at. Decriminalisation would surely let us see the end of polluted hash. The sooner we get rid of that stuff the better.
thing is ...i aint a one off dick ...there are millions of us ...in fact i think you will find that the majority of pot smokers are in my age group.
the young like to think differently but i do believe you will find that an awful lot of us sixties people are still puffing around.
guess what ...no beer belly ...no red nose ...no viens in the cheeks ...remarkably fit healthy strong active and ...achieving ever more.
He’s evidently got no capacity for independent thought and needs a book of rules to give him his opinion at any given time.
A combination of religion and a stifled upbringing have got a lot to answer for with him I’d speculate.
Could the size-limits of farming be increased at all? Or have the Dutch pushed decriminalisation as far as it can go under the current Treaties?
Well actually the Dutch are swinging back the other way, coffee shops are being closed and tighter restrictions are being placed upon them.
Basically the ordinary Dutch dont really like their image of pot smoking drop outs and would rather do without the drug tourism they have. Which is somewhat understandable.
I think at present growing under 50 plants is not a criminal offence, however it is not legal, which means that you still have to hide it, you dont pay tax and there is no quality control. But it also means that local growing isnt as profitable as commercial growing on a big scale them smuggling the stuff in. There has been a definate move to the East, to Poland and other countries there to industrial production where policing is lax.
Decriminalisation does allow the consumer more choice, and this choice does in the main push up quality. However, the 'quality' grass you smoke still might have nasty pesticide in it.
I was under the impression that this wasn't so much a swing back to conservatism, but more of a consolidation of their liberal position. Making their liberal policies more practical by controlling them through the closure of dodgy cafes so that the safer ones can stay open with less criticism. I can't quite remember how it was done, but I think it was in the last 10 years. I saw a thing on it in the Amsterdam History Museum.
The Dutch are still proud of their liberal heritige, as you say a lot of it is just cleaning up the coffee houses they have rather than getting rid of them altogether.
I believe the demand for tighter immigration controls is a result of muslims demanding the curtailment of freedom of speech & press when it comes to their religion. Sparked off when the journalist was capped by some fanatic. So it's still really based at least partly on their liberalism.