Change The Drug Laws? Learn From Holland’s Big Mistake!
A selection of celebrities, politicians and policemen among others have called for the legalisation of some drugs, and the decriminalisation of many others. This they have done in an open letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron, giving as their reason that the current drugs policy is not working. Well, I have news for these silly people, your plan isn’t going to work either!
Dutch Coffee Shop 'Menu'
I lived in Holland for over thirty years, and in 2004 the dutch government legalised the so-called ‘soft drugs’, for pretty much the same reasons put forward by the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Sting and Sir Richard Branson among others today. They have been trying to turn the clock back ever since!
After the law was passed it was possible to legally obtain cannabis etc in a coffee shop and have a ‘joint’ with your coffee. Cafe’s opened by the hundred all over the country, but mainly in the north (Amsterdam) and in the south (Maastricht).
http://youtu.be/Nvv-TVBo3Rw
Once the word had spread, Holland became swamped in ‘drug tourists’ who came to the country from all over, turning it into the drug capitol of Europe. Attempts had been made by the government to restrict sale of the drugs to Dutch citizens, but that doesn’t work.
It Often Leads To Something More Dangerous
After some time the experiment was seen to be badly flawed, and for the last decade or more the government has desperately been trying to get back to how things were, but once the floodgates have been opened……..
So to be honest, I can find no sympathy with the views of these people when they say that significant harm has been caused by the use of criminal law regarding drug possession. These people claim in their letter: “This policy is costly for taxpayers and damaging for communities,” adding; “Criminalising people who use drugs leads to greater social exclusion and stigmatisation making it much more difficult for them to gain employment and to play a productive role in society. It creates a society full of wasted resources.”
Sir Richard: Legalise Drugs!
So Sir Richard, let me put this scenario to you: You wish to decriminalize drug use, which means there will be no criminal record of drug use for a given individual. Does this mean you will accept drug addicts as pilots for your airline? Your plan means that when the applicant comes for interview you will not be able to tell if he is a drug user, and of course he will say no when asked will he not?
Chief Constable Lloyd, Let me put this to you: Do you allow drug addicts to enlist in the police force? If your answer is no, then how will you know if an applicant uses drugs if he has no criminal record?
Have Fun! You'll Pay For It Later!
Last year a total of 80,000 people ended up with a criminal record for drug possession, and in the last decade more than a million individuals have received the same.
It is true, many people do suffer when they have a record, and yes, they do find it hard to find employment, but they need to think of that before they commit the offence.
http://youtu.be/yFtkRFGMfE0
I have always been of the opinion that people only turn to drugs because they lack the essential strength of character and moral fibre necessary to deal with life today. Its an escape from reality, and as for the teenagers who want to ‘get the buzz’ while out on a Saturday night, is that the only way they can enjoy themselves? If so I feel sorry for them!
Want A Responsible Job?
But lets look at the other side of the coin for a moment. If you are a prospective employer is it not in your interests, and those of your company, to know if someone is a drug user? Or maybe you are of the opinion that drug users are just misunderstood individuals, and are really as trustworthy and hardworking as anyone else?
What this ‘new approach’ is advocating is the introduction of a fine for drug possession instead of a criminal record so where is the deterrent in that?
One of the arguments put foward is that the fight against criminal elements in the drug trade have not been very successful, and this is true. But surely that is more a question of cooperations between nations, governments and police forces, for that is what is missing in the war against these people. Given sufficient cooperation, the police forces and military can take care of these people and put them out of business, but currently we see gangs protected by members of the police and government in some latin countries for example.
Legalising drugs will not stop crime:
http://youtu.be/wvMAZKCJT0U
Drug Gangs Getting Rich Peddling Pain And Misery
News, Views, and Nonsense 
29/12/2011 at 02:52
floroy,
happy holidays.
Isaiah 45:07
I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create evil
I, the Lord, do all these things.
At least we agree to disagree?
this is a crazy place, in a crazy time.
drugs no drugs? what will become of us all?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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29/12/2011 at 16:56
Thanks JT, nice to hear from you again. I wish you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year.
All the Best,
Roy.
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17/12/2011 at 21:42
floroy,
consider the cartel to be like the like the HYDRA, remove one head only to reveal another. i feel the strongest supporters of the current laws are the the cartels to the south and the cartels to the north. there has been no lull in the availability in drugs no matter how many king pins have passed. find and cover one tunnel under the border and the smugglers dig more. “insanity” as i learned in school, is doing the same thing over and over , but expecting a different outcome.
im tired of the current broken record of laws, the same thing over and over since 1935. the laws do not work, just as alcohol prohibition did not work. if they outlawed tabacco tommorow people would still smoke like mad, only at the price of gold.
i would be the pot calling the kettle black to wrong you for smoking. i have known many well balanced citizens that partake in the use of tabacco. i can say the same thing of cannabis, even my own parents used it regular. i was fed every night, went to school every day, had chores, lived in a clean safe house, the list goes on.
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18/12/2011 at 18:17
Hi JT,
I can well imagine you feel strongly about the situation considering your past, and you are right insofar as the ‘head of the snake’ would be replaced but that is no reason to stop the war. Eventaully the drug gangs would run out of ‘heads’. Also, I feel the law has made a big maistake by, on many occasions, leaving the fortunes of these drug barons intact instead of taking everything off them when they are convicted. Leave them with nothing but the clothes they stand up in when, and if, they leave prison. It is a sad fact that particularly in the United States, the drug law enforcement officers are to a greater or lessor degree corrupt. Ideally, the police forces should clean out their own houses before embarking on a concerted effort to destroy the drug barons. Make the punishment so severe that none will dare to venture into corrupt practices again.
As I mentioned last time, the thing that scares me the most is young children getting their hands on drugs if we legalize them. We will without doubt end up with a generation of addicts, which in my opinion is the beginning of the slippery slope for not only law and order, but for public safety. Would you want to travel in an aeroplane with an addict at the controls, or with a train driver who takes drugs? All these things will be legally possible if what you propose takes place.
People are not well suited to handling the stress and strain of modern life and seek solace in oblivion for a few hours from drugs or alcohol. In my day people had more fortitude and strength of character to handle life. Sadly that is missing today, although I will admit that life is much more complicated than years ago. I hope this finds you well.
Roy.
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16/12/2011 at 21:54
floroy,
we are a current generation of junkies, spawned from a generation of junkies that came before us, who came from the junkies that spawned them. in the 70 or so years that cannabis has been prohibited, we have gone from around 8,000 users to untold millions. to simply throw more money at the problem has not worked, because it will not work. legalizationwill not fix the problem of addiction, only the addict can fix that. at one point in my life i was considered an addict. i spent $150 to $200 a week on booze, and $50 a week on tabacco. not any more , i as an addict decided that i did not owe anymore money to smirnoff co. or philip morris. note i decided not international law enforcement, not the president, not dr. drew, not you. im not looking for praise , my point is that more money, and laws will not fix these people who are not ready to be fixed. for three years ive been fixed because i fixed myself, not AA, not rehab, not jail, not you.
no offense floroy, its good to have this exchange. im not a celebrity, not a law enfocement officer, nor a politician. i do know that herion is prohibited, however i can go down to the “pain management clinic” and tell the “doctor” that my epidermis is paining me something awful. the “doctor” will write me a perscription for powerful addictive synthetic opiates. when i run out the “doctor” will just give me more powerful addictive synthetic opiates. i can just about point at every other house and say alcoholic, opioholic, potaholic, tabaccohlic, fattyfoodaholic, life it self seems to be the one true addiction.
people are going to use drugs, legal or not. i would rather people use drugs without the narco gangs controlling its use in a violent black market. some might say the poor children of iraq listen to automatic gun fire every night in bed. i listened to auto matic gun fire 3-4 nights a week where i grew up. i would rather the addicts scored their drugs from a store than gun toting narco thugs.
someone scored drugs from one rghtnow
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17/12/2011 at 01:19
Hi, Welcome back. I agree with much of what you say and I guess we are all addicted to something. I have smoked for more than fifty years so you would say I am a tobaccoholic. You deserve much respect for your perseverence in quitting your addictions and I take my hat off to you (well, I would if I was wearing one). It is a shame more people cannot show the determination you have.
You are correct in saying that the number of drug takers has rocketed since the seventies, but I guess that is partly because criminals found supplying it was a good business. On the other hand, it is an escape from reality for many people for reasons I will not go into here. As I said, I believe this problem is something the law should take care of, but sadly, it must set its own house in order first. Will it happen? I doubt it. But if cross-border cooperation could be achieved on an international scale, aimed at ‘cutting off the head of the snake’, the affects would be felt world-wide.
The thing that bothers me the most about legalizing drugs, should it happen, is we will soon have children perhaps as young as nine or ten turning into junkies. The current alcohol laws make it illegal for under-age children to obtain alcohol but they do just the same (we already have cases of cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol consumption in nine and ten year-olds in the UK), so what is to stop them getting access to drugs? In my view, we have a big enough drug problem now, but it will fade into insignificance compared to what awaits us if it is legalized.
The second important thing is the damage it does to the brain after a time. Medical science has proven beyond a doubt that continued drug use, soft or hard, will eventually cause major damage to brain function.
I agree it is extremely hard for people such as yourself living in the areas you do, and you have my deepest sympathy and the hope you will evenutually be able to leave all that behind.
Best Regards,
Roy.
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15/12/2011 at 23:15
floroy 1942,
perhaps you spent half a life in holland. i SURVIVED growing up on the north side of Houston Texas, or as i like to call it North Mexico. i was the fastest white kid in my neighbor
hood, because i was the only white kid. drugs and drug gangs are a city wide effort where i spent half a life. your ability to speak for all dutch men is a liberty i’ll take as well, but for all of houston instead of all of holland. END CANNABIS PROHIBITIONNOW. We are tired of being terrorized by MS 13, bloods, crips, mexican mafia, the list goes on and on. even with 100% border checks after 911 a person could still buy mexican pot by the dump truck load? decriminalization cannot address drug gangs. the gangs will never stop with the easy money at hand. only full legalization and taxation could bring an end to the terror i endured growing up. in as long as you lived in holland i have watched drugs and gangs become stronger and stronger. the only thing that will stop the terror is a stroke of a pen in changing the law.
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16/12/2011 at 12:07
Hi, Nice to hear from you. I appreciate your views and sympathise with what you had to go through while growing up. Compared to your experiences I guess my life was a non-event. However in my opinion, legalizing drugs will not make the problem go away. You cannot ignore a problem by making it legal, if we did that we may as well legalize terrorism or murder for many suffer under it. The answer lies more in the direction of better international cooperation by the law enforcement agencies and a crackdown on the corruption within them, especially Mexico. If we do as you suggest, the next generation will be one junkies, for more and more people will turn to drugs as a way of release from their troubles. It cannot be denied that the effect of ‘soft’ drugs wears off through overuse, so people turn to harder drugs in search of ‘the kick’ it gives them. You should also consider the long term medical problems associated with drugs. I shudder to think what horrors await us if we allow people free use of drugs in any form.
Best Regards,
Roy.
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01/10/2011 at 13:30
i think you completely miss the point here, when reading this article all i get is a disorganised and bigoted rant quite frankly. The reason for decriminalisation of drugs comes back to our fundamental right to feel as we want to, those who want drugs will get them and take them wether it’s legal or not but decriminalisation would put a stop to victims being treated like criminals (when the real criminals are those supplying) and allow addicts to seek help without fear of persecution.
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01/10/2011 at 13:33
further more, should alcohol be discovered today it would be an instant class A drug, yet it is legal. However are all the policemen drunks? are all our pilots pissed?
look at what you are saying…
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02/10/2011 at 00:16
Hi Harry,
Thanks for your frank comment, it is appreciated. I am sorry, but I think you miss the point. I lived in Holland during the drugs fiasco and I can tell you first hand that the greater majority of Dutch people deeply regretted the decision. They were sick and tired of seeing the streets full of addicts from all corners of Europe coming to their country to get drugs. You say you have the “right to feel as you want”, and so you do, but remember, the ‘buzz’ people feel from ‘soft’ drugs will wane after a time, and this is when many start to experiment with harder drugs and become hooked.
There are other sides to the ‘drug debate’ that you perhaps have not thought of. If soft drugs are sold at shops and/or cafes throughout the land, what is to stop them falling into the hands of young children? Laws, yes! Regulation, yes! but these same laws and regulations are in force for cigarettes and alcohol, and STILL our children get their hands on them! Would you like to see the entire nation turned into one of drug addicts just like the booze culture we have now? I wouldn’t!
All users, and I presume you are one, know they are breaking the law before they start, and if they get caught, they suffer the consequences. It is a proven fact that the effects of drugs, even the so-called ‘soft’ drugs, can linger in the brain for a considerable time. Would you like to be sat on a plane that is being flown by a pilot, or directed by an air traffic controller, that had used drugs before coming on shift? I wouldn’t! Drugs are not a substitute for getting on with your life and doing the best you can. For many it is an escapism from the ‘cruel’ world, just like alcohol.
Alcohol has been around for centuries and never done anyone lasting harm until today. In this time period, our youth seem to think it is impossible to have a good time without the booze, or for many, the drugs. This is sad, but stems from their belief that life OWES them a living and they don’t have to do much for it. It is the fault mainly of the parents, who have not prepared their offspring for life outside the cradle. To me, drugs are just another ‘easy way out’ like alcohol. Perhaps you should read the words of Bill Gates: https://floroy1942.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/something-every-teenager-should-know/
As to your second comment, alcohol has been around for such a long time, and the majority of people are responsible drinkers. When people get older and hold jobs with responsibility, they have a tendency to accept that which goes with the job. Plus, of course, not everyone is hooked on alcohol, or drugs for that matter. Many of us accept what is given us in good grace, and if we want more, we work for it. Life itself may be a gift, but how you live it is up to you!
Roy.
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13/10/2011 at 13:59
Cannabis has been around for much longer than alcohol, and until early in the 20th century was a common remedy carried by doctors. Did you know that alcohol is toxic to the human body (only in the last hundred years humans have built up a resistance to it), which is why some people are allergic to alcohol. However our brains have cannaboid receptors. Plus I would say that in the UK at least the majority of people are certainly not responsible drinkers.
If people want harder drugs then they will get them whether they are legal or not, in fact they are more likely to take harder drugs during prohibition than legalisation because there is no regulation on a black market. This information comes from “Drug Enforcement Officers against Prohabition”
I would rather have Police officers who smoke cannabis on the streets rather than alcoholics, rapists and child molesters. But in the same breath alcohol is a legal drug, however pilots and police officers are prohibited from doing their job under the influence, so the same would apply if they take drugs. Also cannabis has been shown, in numerous studies worldwide to have a much higher success rate for treating cancer than chemotherapy (which has a less than 9% success rate at remission, a 40% likelihood of causing death and nearly 100% likelihood of causing severe illness). It has prevented glaucoma sufferers from going blind and if made legal it would make the misery of arthritis and MS that much more tolerable. My brother was suffering from MS and this year committed suicide, if cannabis was made legal at the very least for medicinal use, then people like my brother would find such terrible conditions more tolerable. I ask you this, why should anyone have the right to dictate to me what I put into my body? Especially when I consider it a medicine.
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13/10/2011 at 15:37
Hi Grim,
Your comments are interesting, and thank you for them. However, even soft drugs like cannabis have been medically proven to impair judgement to a serious degree, and can with extreme use, kill just like alcohol. The question arises, if Police Officers are smoking cannabis on the job, would they be fit to do their job properly? If drugs are illegal, it is fair to assume that e.g. constables and pilots, being (for the most part) responsible members of society, would not require tests for drugs before going on duty. However, if drugs became legal this would be necessary, for their usage would be that more widespread. Plus of course, alcohol abuse is easily detectable through breath and unsteady movements etc., drug usage is not, but it still impairs brain function to a great extent.
Keeping drug usage illegal, and giving transgressors a criminal record, is a surefire way for employers to know better who they are hiring. No-one wants to hire a drug addict. I don’t, for they indicate by taking drugs, even so-called ‘soft drugs’ that they need an escape from life and cannot handle the day to day pressure. You are quite correct in what you say about the Brits and alcohol, that is also a substitute for many people who go out at the weekends with the express idea of getting drunk, like they cannot have a good time without it. I pity them!
On the other hand, I fully agree that cannabis is extremely usful to the medical profession, and I would difinitely not object to it being legalised for that purpose alone. My uncle suffered from MS for decades, and I am sure that if the drug had been legal, he would have liked to ease his suffering. Outside medical circles I would still be against its legalization, for the simple reason it would, in today’s society, become no different from having a cigarette among many.
So far as your rights go, perhaps its to protect society from people who take drugs, or are you telling me that the possibility of you ‘getting high’ on a night out and killing someone when driving home will NEVER happen?
Regards,
Roy
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11/06/2011 at 09:48
Quite a major point that this article is missing Is that in Holland there is a major legal distinction between hard and soft drugs- the point of their policy Is that by separating the two legally and liberalising the former cases of hard substance abuse drop dramatically- It has been proven that this policy works with Holland having much less drug related deaths per capita than it’s neighbours France Germany etc
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11/06/2011 at 12:15
Hi Neil,
Thanks for your input. You are right up to a point, but the drop in drug related deaths was not that impressive. Once someone is hooked on hard drugs no amount of soft drugs will make them change. When the laws were first introduced the country was overwealmed with a massive influx of drug addicts, which is why they are trying so deperately to turn the clock back.
Regards, Roy.
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