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Europe: Dutchman Busted for Smoking Tobacco in Cannabis Coffee House

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #553)
Drug War Issues

In the first coffee shop bust since the Dutch imposed a ban on tobacco smoking in public places earlier this year, an unnamed 27-year-old Amsterdam man has been issued a fine for smoking a marijuana joint laced with tobacco, the Netherlands Information Service reported. If he fails to pay the fine, his case will automatically advance to the courts, where it would be the first case to punish someone for illegally smoking a legal product in a legal business selling an illegal product. (Marijuana remains illegal under Dutch law, although the Dutch pragmatically regulate its sale.)

downstairs of a coffee shop, Maastricht (courtesy Wikimedia)
The Dutch banned smoking tobacco in bars, restaurants, and other public accommodations, including coffee shops, beginning July 1. The smoking of cannabis is not banned, but the quaint European habit of mixing tobacco into marijuana joints had observers earlier this year predicting that such an incident was inevitable.

Although Dutch police are not charged with enforcing the smoking ban -- it is the domain of the Food and Non-Food Authority (VWA) -- the man was issued a citation by a police officer. "If a police officer signals an infringement, he does not close his eyes to it," according to a police spokesman.

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Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

The law is the law. I'm tired of these young punks thinking they can do whatever/wherever they want. I hope they throw the book at him. LOL!!!

Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:15pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I think you missed the cultural and legal irony in "illegally smoking a legal product in a legal business selling an illegal product" -- I mean, this is really rich!

Business owners have been stripped of their inherent property rights...come on, you don't have to work for or patronize a business if you don't agree with their practices.

I think it's time for you to evolve...

- Samantha

Sat, 09/27/2008 - 7:40pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

Honestly, even as a tobacco smoker, I realize how disgusting of a habit it is...... it smells up the room, your clothes, your breath, even your lungs themselves begin to reek like tobacco tar. One should not ruin a useful medicine like marijuana with the likes of tobacco.
Tobacco only has a topical medicinal use, that is for blood clotting at the wound site. When combusted, or consumed (ingested), tobacco leads to a rainbow of different diseases and disorders. Tobacco, other than its topical use is a pure killer, and takes out the population of a small city every year in Canada alone.
I would have arrested him for putting tobacco into ANYTHING that is meant as a medicine, because tobacco ruins that.
Mixing a killer like tobacco into a life saving medicine like Cannabis insults those of us who use Cannabis as a medicine, and does nothing to make politicians more aware of it medicinal properties.
All you people out there that mix like that...... Ewwww......... If anyone ever tried to sell me pot when it's laced with tobacco, I'd laugh in their face.

EARTH JOINTS ARE DISGUSTING!!!!

Mon, 09/29/2008 - 6:15pm Permalink

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