Just some information about the legality of marijuana in The Netherlands. I know very little about this, but the knowledge I have by virtue of living there and the discussions that are going on about it is probably more than that of some other people here.
Basically, Steve is right: shit's not easy.
Also, it's not legal here. What actually happens is that the laws regarding possessing pot aren't enforced when you have less than a few grams. You can smoke it on the streets and in your home. It may offend or annoy some people when you do it on the streets, but it's generally accepted. I'm not sure what would happen if you "walk into a restaurant, roll a joint and start puffin' away", I've never seen it happen, but I suppose you would be asked to put it out. (Like you would be if you were smoking tobacco.)
There are shops - we call them "coffee shops", an interesting story of euphemisms - where you can buy some pot. Not too much. And you have to show some ID and be older than 18 years. (Beer and wine, by comparison, can be legally bought at age 16. Spirits are also available from age 18.) These shops are checked quite well and will be closed when there's even a minor thing "off".
Now, here comes the interesting part. They're allowed to buy and sell, but there's no one that can legally sell to them. It's illegal to import the stuff and it's illegal to grow more than a few plants. There are crackdowns on pot growers. It's an interesting case of double-think that leads to some minor discussions.
A big issue is international pressure, mostly from Belgium. Border municipalities on our side of the border do have pot bars and drug tourism happens. This actually attracts a lot of criminals on both sides of the border. In Belgium people going to The Netherlands are stopped by drug "salesmen" looking to make a sale.
These border municipalities also have a lot of hindrance from the drug tourists who generally cause a lot of disturbances of the peace.
International treaties (ranked above the constitution in the hierarchy of law here) prohibit most of the inconsistencies to be solved and gives other countries a bit of a bat to hit us with. The whole issue is pretty fragile here. The current largest party is slowly moving it's position to oppose the current policy of "tolerating" soft drugs. At present, it's unlikely that they'll get a majority in parliament. I don't think it will become illegal again anytime soon, but there will probably be additional restrictions on the use and sale of marijuana. As for the long-term future, I don't know what it will bring. Currently the country is getting more conservative every day, but there's also a bit of a backlash growing.
> It's illegal to import the stuff and it's illegal to grow more than a few plants.
Say that a thousand people each grew one plant, and then sold them all to a single person, serially, so that that person only owned one at a time, but was constantly "in stock" when anyone else wanted to buy from him. It sounds like that particular situation would be perfectly legal.
It's important to remember that legal systems have humans in them, too. It's one thing to read a law, spot a loophole, and exploit it relative to what a hypothetical law computer[1] would say the law is. It's another to see a loophole, exploit it, and convince a human that what you did is not covered by the law.
Yeah, sometimes it happens, but I think we hear about it when it does because it's news. Much more likely, somebody's going to jail anyhow with your scheme. Judges are not stupid, in general.
Basically, Steve is right: shit's not easy.
Also, it's not legal here. What actually happens is that the laws regarding possessing pot aren't enforced when you have less than a few grams. You can smoke it on the streets and in your home. It may offend or annoy some people when you do it on the streets, but it's generally accepted. I'm not sure what would happen if you "walk into a restaurant, roll a joint and start puffin' away", I've never seen it happen, but I suppose you would be asked to put it out. (Like you would be if you were smoking tobacco.)
There are shops - we call them "coffee shops", an interesting story of euphemisms - where you can buy some pot. Not too much. And you have to show some ID and be older than 18 years. (Beer and wine, by comparison, can be legally bought at age 16. Spirits are also available from age 18.) These shops are checked quite well and will be closed when there's even a minor thing "off".
Now, here comes the interesting part. They're allowed to buy and sell, but there's no one that can legally sell to them. It's illegal to import the stuff and it's illegal to grow more than a few plants. There are crackdowns on pot growers. It's an interesting case of double-think that leads to some minor discussions.
A big issue is international pressure, mostly from Belgium. Border municipalities on our side of the border do have pot bars and drug tourism happens. This actually attracts a lot of criminals on both sides of the border. In Belgium people going to The Netherlands are stopped by drug "salesmen" looking to make a sale.
These border municipalities also have a lot of hindrance from the drug tourists who generally cause a lot of disturbances of the peace.
International treaties (ranked above the constitution in the hierarchy of law here) prohibit most of the inconsistencies to be solved and gives other countries a bit of a bat to hit us with. The whole issue is pretty fragile here. The current largest party is slowly moving it's position to oppose the current policy of "tolerating" soft drugs. At present, it's unlikely that they'll get a majority in parliament. I don't think it will become illegal again anytime soon, but there will probably be additional restrictions on the use and sale of marijuana. As for the long-term future, I don't know what it will bring. Currently the country is getting more conservative every day, but there's also a bit of a backlash growing.
So, yeah, Shit's NOT Easy.