New laws similar to those which took effect in England last summer, will ban the smoking of tobacco - but not cannabis - in enclosed public places in the Netherlands from July 1.
Critics say the change will encourage users to turn to much stronger forms of the drug.
Users will still be able to light up joints filled with pure cannabis but technically banned from mixing in tobacco. [The Telegraph]
The popularity of mixing tobacco into joints is due in part to the widespread use of chemical fertilizers used when growing the commercial cannabis that is typically available in Dutch coffeeshops. "Chemmy" pot doesn't burn properly without tobacco, thus we may soon face an epidemic of joints that wonât stay lit.
Lacking the tobacco option, coffeeshop customers may soon find themselves craving properly-grown organic cannabis, currently a rare find at most Dutch coffeeshops. If, to any extent, this change in the law results in increased use of more conscientious cultivation practices, the long term impact on the quality of Dutch cannabis could be substantial.
Organic cannabis is more flavorful, softer on the lungs, and produces a more satisfying high. Moreover, proper organic methods can achieve the same yields as the destructive chemical/hydroponic technique that many growers believe is necessary to produce a sizable harvest. Experts such as Jason King have long lamented the poor quality of commercial cannabis available in Amsterdam and this new law may have the unintended effect of pushing things back in the right direction.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 18, 2008
CONTACT: Dan Bernath, MPP assistant director of communications, 202-462-5747 ex. 115
ALBANY, NEW YORK â The New York Assembly passed a bill today that would protect New Yorkers with life threatening or debilitating conditions from arrest for using medical marijuana when their doctors believe it would be the best treatment option, 79-48.
The bill is similar to the medical marijuana bill the Assembly passed last year. The version passed today was modified to address concerns voiced by members of the Senate, who have until June 23 to pass the bill before the legislature recesses.
"Every day that goes by without this sensible, compassionate law is a day in which our most vulnerable citizens must choose between suffering debilitating pain or risking arrest in order to find relief," said bill sponsor and Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried. "These patients don't have the luxury of waiting another year for their elected representatives to act â they need the Senate to stand up for them now."
Dr. Kevin Smith, a Saugerties psychiatrist who has been recognized by the state legislature for his work with police forensics, said the bill would change the lives of people like him who have no better pain relief options.
"Unless you or a loved one has experienced it, it's difficult to understand the frustration and helplessness that comes from knowing that relief is readily available but forbidden by law," said Smith, who suffers from a painful genetic defect that causes his immune system to attack his spine and hips as though they were foreign bodies; the debilitating pain forced him to quit practicing medicine. "Medical marijuana can give me my life back, but right now I am barred by law from using it. This is crazy."
Glenn Amandola, a medically retired New York City police officer from Northport who suffers from chronic pain and a seizure disorder after being injured on the job in 1987, said it makes no sense for the law to prevent him from using medical marijuana when his doctor says it could help.
"As an officer with the New York City Police Department, I swore to uphold state law, and I'll never break that oath," he said. "The flip side to that, however, is that our lawmakers owe it to people like me who live in constant pain to make sure the law doesn't penalize us for seeking relief. I should have the right to decide for myself â with my doctor â what my best treatment options are."
With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.
From the Desk of Ethan Nadelmann |  |
Dear friends,
I have been traveling back and forth to California this year, working on a ballot initiative that represents the most significant reform of prisons and sentencing in the history of the United States. Weâre calling it the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act or âNORAâ for short and weâve just heard from the California Secretary of State that it has officially qualified for the ballot.
We wrote this measure and we are spearheading the campaign. Iâm telling you about it because, as with past campaigns, our success in California, the most populous state, will have a national impact.
Now I need you to make a donation to help us build our fund for voter education and television advertising in the days leading up to the election.
Our research shows a substantial majority of Californians really like whatâs in NORA. It provides a solution to the stateâs prison overcrowding crisis through a combination of measures that will simultaneously and safely reduce the size of the prison population, provide effective treatment and rehabilitation, reduce recidivism and crime, and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
It would be great if NORA could be enacted into law by the State Legislature, but our friends in Sacramento tell us the only way to get it done is through the ballot initiative process. Thatâs why I need your help. Iâve raised millions from wealthy folks -- including some who live outside California and regard this as a fundamental issue of human rights, smart public policy and/or fiscal responsibility -- but we canât get to the finish line without lots of support from people across the country who care. Please make a donation now.
I should tell you that NORA isnât just about solving Californiaâs prison overcrowding crisis and saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Itâs also about reforming Californiaâs prison industrial complex in ways that will transform the state into a leader in sensible drug and sentencing policy, and serve as a model for other states.
California used to be known as the State of Higher Education. Now itâs known as the State of Higher Incarceration. NORA can change that with your help.
You might also be interested to know that NORA includes a provision that changes the penalty for marijuana possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction -- like a traffic ticket. This single change will protect some 40,000 people a year convicted of simple marijuana possession from the serious and life-long collateral consequences of a criminal record.
So, if you want to know more about the details of NORA, click here, but please also take the opportunity to make a generous donation to ensure NORA wins on Election Day. There are still millions of people in California and across the country who think the best solution to every problem is to lock people up. Donât let them win the day.
And after youâve made your donation, please forward this email to everyone you know and encourage them to support NORA as well. Thereâs never been an opportunity like this to accomplish so much good for so many people.
One in eight Americans lives in California, and a victory in November will send a clear message to policy makers across the country that the American people want a public health approach to drug problems, not more wasteful prison spending. Your support of this California initiative will mean similar reforms will be more likely to pass across the country.
Weâre talking about freedom, compassion and responsibility. Smart drug policy. Smart crime policy. And good government for a change.
Many thanks,
Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network
P.S. I need to raise the remaining money to run a powerful campaign through Election Day. Please give now to help me build a war chest for NORA.
Every year, about $12 billion in drug profits returns to Mexico from the world's largest narcotics market â the United States. As a tactic in the war on drugs, law enforcement pursues that drug money and is then allowed to keep a portion as an incentive to fight crime.
â¦
Federal and state rules governing asset forfeiture explicitly discourage law enforcement agencies from supplementing their budgets with seized drug money or allowing the prospect of those funds to influence law enforcement decisions.
There is a law enforcement culture â particularly in the South â in which police agencies have grown, in the words of one state senator from South Texas, "addicted to drug money."