DutchNews.nl, Wednesday
03 April 2013
 |
| Police and officials clear out a marijuana plantation in Amsterdam. Photo: DutchNews.nl |
Amsterdam
city council is to urge the national government to give local authorities the
power to allow legal marijuana protection to legally supply cannabis cafes.
A majority
of city councillors have voted in favour of the plan, which they say would
remove the criminal element from the supply chain.
Currently,
the city’s so-called coffee shops are licensed to sell small amounts of
marijuana and cannabis for personal use. And while possession is not legal, the
police turn an official blind eye to people having less than five grammes.
Organised
crime
But the
shops are largely supplied by big drugs traders and the council wants to set up
its own plantations to keep out the criminal element. The city councils in
Groningen, Utrecht and Rotterdam have already made similar pleas.
Nevertheless,
the likelihood of this happening is virtually zero because justice minister Ivo
Opstelten is totally opposed to the idea, the Parool pointed out.
He argues
it would break not only current Dutch drugs laws but international and EU
treaties as well.
Grow your
own
Last week
it emerged that the ruling VVD and Labour party are divided on plans to get
tough on ‘growshops’, shops where supplies for growing marijuana are sold -
mainly to private individuals.
The VVD
wants to continue with the previous government’s plans to make ‘preparations
and enabling illegal marijuana cultivation’ a criminal offence.
Most
opposition parties back the proposal, meaning there is enough support in both
houses of parliament to ensure the proposal becomes law without the Labour
party.
VVD
parliamentarian Ard van der Steur said the new law would make it difficult to
supply coffee shops but that parliament should not ignore opportunities to
tackle organised crime.
At the
moment, the police are powerless to act if they find a building kitted out to
grow marijuana, complete with lamps and watering systems, but no plants, he
said. ‘The new law will make this possible.’
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| Picture taken on May 5, 2012 shows Czech youth shouting slogans as they take part in a march calling for the legalization of marijuana, in Prague. AFP PHOTO / MICHAL CIZEK |
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