Amsterdam Will Not Ban Marijuana For Tourists

[webfact]

Amsterdam will not ban marijuana for tourists

AMSTERDAM: -- The Amsterdam authorities will not ban tourists from visiting cafes that sell marijuana, the city’s burgomaster said on Thursday.

The law introduced in 2009 banned tourists from buying marijuana in ‘coffee shops’ across the country.

Even though the ban was to be introduced throughout the Netherlands, the government said recently that it was up to the local authorities to take a final decision.

About 1.5 million tourists visit Amsterdam to buy marijuana.

Source: http://english.ruvr....a-for-tourists/

-- THE VOICE OF RUSSIA 2012-11-02

[angsta]

Not my thing but good on ya Amsterdam. Many worse drugs available from 7/11.

[happysanook]

excellent news indeed. the day you can't get buy pot in amsterdam is a sad day indeed. legality of grass is gaining huge ground in the US.

[hansnl]

The whole retreat from the accepted policies about Marijuana, the introduction ot he so-called "weedpass", was done under pressure from abroad.

Indeed, after the intro of the pass criminals flooded in to take over the trade, as many had foretold.

It will be probable that the Dutch governmetn will abolish the weedpass.

But, weed/hashish is NOT free!

It is tolerated for personal use.

If you have too much in possession, gues what will happen.

Anyway, to keep the criminals away, the Amsterdam mayor and other mayors will not introduce the pass, in effect the coffeshops can go on.

Good?

Not good?

Take your pick.

[I Like Thai]

It would have been against European law to ban it for tourists from Europe also.

[uptheos]

Not my thing but good on ya Amsterdam. Many worse drugs available from 7/11.

Absolutely, cigarettes and alcohol can be brutal killers.

[hyperdimension]

It would be good if Thailand follows suit soon.

MDMA ("ecstasy") should be decriminalized similarly.

[stoneyboy]

It would be good if Thailand follows suit soon.

MDMA ("ecstasy") should be decriminalized similarly.

Why is that then ?

[hyperdimension]

Not my thing but good on ya Amsterdam. Many worse drugs available from 7/11.

Absolutely, cigarettes and alcohol can be brutal killers.

Here are some numbers (from the web page Is alcohol worse than ecstasy?) to back that up:

[hyperdimension]

It would be good if Thailand follows suit soon.

MDMA ("ecstasy") should be decriminalized similarly.

Why is that then ?

What do you mean?

[stoneyboy]

Why should Thailand or any country for that matter follow suit,what will it achieve ?

[Sayonarax]

It would be good if Thailand follows suit soon.

MDMA ("ecstasy") should be decriminalized similarly.

smack too

[Dorothy1985]

Bong on babies.

Everyone is beautiful on weed.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Dorothy1985

[IMA_FARANG]

But if you read that entire article you will see where it states that the local authorities CAN stop the sale of Marijuana in their city.

In fact as it says that the burgomeister (spelling?) can ban the sale of it.

THe burgomeister is the equivalent of the Mayor of a city.

In the Netherlands that would almost certainly require a referendum....voting on that ban...and thus making such a ban legal.

And as my Dutch friend Jaap once told me. close to 40% of voters in the Netherlands have indicated they would vote FOR such a ban on the open sale of Marijauna or Hash.

But I don't think there WILL be such a country wide referendum....especially not in Amsterdam.

But my friend Jaap lives near Rotterdam....and he told me that in Rotterdam, support for such a outright ban is about 70% or more.

All it would take is another 10% or 15% opinion change.....and it could happen in the Netherlands

But I don't think it will happen.

Making it illegal to USE Pot or Hash outide of where it's purchased....meaning it MUST be consumed inside where it was bought....and can NOT be taken from where it was bought....is much higher.

It's estimated 70% of voters in the Netherlands would support tougher restrictions on that.

So there are likely to be tighter restrictions on the use of it comimg in the future.

Many in the Netherlands DO NOT LIKE the (negative) attention they are getting from the intermational press about selling Marijuana legally in Amsterdam.

Edited November 2, 2012 by IMA_FARANG

[Scott]

Amsterdam has always been one of my favorite cities in the world, along with San Francisco and Bangkok. When I first heard about the impending ban, for some reason, Amsterdam dropped off my list of favorites. Now it's back!

[angsta]

27 people die in the UK every year from taking MDMA? Really??

That number seems very high to me.

[Cardiff1963]

27 people die in the UK every year from taking MDMA? Really??

That number seems very high to me.

maybe he's talking worldwide. Figures the alcohol,tobacco industries would die for

[Scott]

I think we are straying off topic a little bit, but isn't one of the reasons for deaths because of ecstasy due to dehydration and then drinking too much water. I seem to recall reading something about that.

The guy who died from marijuana use is unusual. Can you die from the munchies?

[Payboy]

Not my thing but good on ya Amsterdam. Many worse drugs available from 7/11.

Amen brother. Alcohol kills, weed chills.

[hyperdimension]

Why should Thailand or any country for that matter follow suit,what will it achieve ?

Decriminalizing and legalizing recreational drugs that have been found to be relatively harmless would provide the population with much safer alternatives to the currently widely used and accepted but very harmful drugs (alcohol and tobacco).

See these scientific studies comparing the levels of harm of different drugs:

Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis (The PDF is available here: http://www.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar/~mmiller/espanol/Variedades,%20politica/drogas_Journal.pdf)

Quantifying the RR of harm to self and others from substance misuse: results from a survey of clinical experts across Scotland

Currently when people party or celebrate, the only recreational drug that most people think is suitable for the occasion is alcohol. As can be seen from the reports above and the death statistics in my ealier post, alcohol is one of the most harmful recreational drugs to both the user and society. For scientific details of the health effects of alcohol here is an excellent in-depth 516-page report: 10th Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health HIGHLIGHTS FROM CURRENT RESEARCH June 2000. MDMA is a far more suitable alternative as a party drug based on both the effects (everyone around feels like a friend) and its relative harmlessness. Cannabis is less of a party drug as it is too much of a relaxant, but it would make a much better alternative to tobacco for those who like to smoke tobacco to feel relaxed. So ideally I would love to see MDMA replace alcohol as the number 1 party drug, and cannabis replace tobacco as the number 1 relaxing drug.

[hyperdimension]

27 people die in the UK every year from taking MDMA? Really??

That number seems very high to me.

maybe he's talking worldwide. Figures the alcohol,tobacco industries would die for

They are deaths in UK only. 27 out of 500k users (0.005%) is low compared with 40k alcohol-related deaths out of 40M drinkers (0.1%). i.e. alcohol is 20 times as deadly based on these statistics.

[hyperdimension]

I think we are straying off topic a little bit, but isn't one of the reasons for deaths because of ecstasy due to dehydration and then drinking too much water. I seem to recall reading something about that.

That is correct. It is mentioned in this documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRgb5coMXGk

It is also mentioned in the book Ecstasy: The Complete Guide : A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of Mdma

Death by dehydration can be prevented simply by drinking some water - sipping around half of a bottle per hour if sweating from dancing or when thirsty if not sweating.

Too much water can kill too, but you'd have to seriously overdo the water drinking. From the page Water intoxication:

Healthy kidneys are able to excrete approximately 1 litre of fluid water (0.26 gallons) per hour

So drinking more than 1L of water within an hour would be too much.

[hyperdimension]

The guy who died from marijuana use is unusual. Can you die from the munchies?

There's always a risk of injury or death when your senses, judgement or coordination are altered or impaired.

Too much THC without much CBD to balance out may increase the risk of psychosis. The "skunk" variant of cannabis is a genetically engineered form that has a much higher ratio of THC to CBD than natural cannabis, and therefore may not be as safe.

[RaoulDuke]

27 people die in the UK every year from taking MDMA? Really??

That number seems very high to me.

That was my first reaction as well, fake ecstasy (like PMA) can be deadly, but not so much for real MDMA. I doubt there are 27 dehydration/over-hydration deaths per year. I am sure the 40k alcohol deaths include drinking and driving accidents, so I would imagine many of the MDMA deaths are also from related accidents.

I have never been much of a pothead, but I did enjoy munching on some mushrooms in Amsterdam (although I always ended up consuming a few too many ), hope they are still available, as well. Personally, I find it a very charming city, but I do not see it as much of a tourist draw without the coffee shops. Van Gogh and windmills have a very limited appeal.

[Keesters]

About 1.5 million tourists visit Amsterdam to buy marijuana.

Isn't that a bit like saying 10 million tourists visit Thailand to eat Som Tam.

[EvilDrSomkid]

There is a possibility that tomorrow in several American states, (medical) cannabis will be decriminalized/legalized.

http://www.theatlant...n-night/264443/

More legal than The Netherlands.

That would be fantastic. If it works and cannabis is legalized, with various restrictions, it will be a watershed moment.

Other states might follow suit.

As for cannabis for tourists, why change something that works? It is part of Amsterdam culture now.

It's not good for you, but neither is going on the piss every night in girly bars

Edited November 5, 2012 by EvilDrSomkid

[Credo]

It's not the best news I've heard, but it's right up there.

[kblaze]

The guy who died from marijuana use is unusual. Can you die from the munchies?

There's always a risk of injury or death when your senses, judgement or coordination are altered or impaired.

Too much THC without much CBD to balance out may increase the risk of psychosis. The "skunk" variant of cannabis is a genetically engineered form that has a much higher ratio of THC to CBD than natural cannabis, and therefore may not be as safe.

No, its still safe, its just stronger. This is the beauty of the bud; thousands of strains of varying potencies that offer different effects for different durations. Thus, the discriminating user benefits from being able to find a strain to fit their smoking situation; Sativas for head highs, indicas for body, edibles for long lasting effects...etc etc. Though I am not "anti-alcohol", I find the range of effects can be summarized as; buzzed, drunk, and drunker.