For decades, drug policy reformers have struggled to identify the perfect question, a point so simple and straightforward that no drug warrior can respond. It seems Frederick Polak of ENCOD and the Netherlands Drug Policy Foundation may have stumbled across it, nearly provoking a meltdown from UN Drug Czar Antonio-Maria Costa:


For the video-challenged, here's my rather loose approximation of how it went down:

Polak: How do you explain the fact that marijuana use in the Netherlands is lower than in surrounding countries despite the fact that it is sold freely to adults? Doesn't this fundamentally undermine the theory behind prohibition?

Costa: Thank you for your question. This is an issue I've considered at great length and which you misunderstand most profoundly. Allow me to begin by saying…oh for goodness' sake, I do believe I've left the oven on at my house. I must depart forthwith, but I'm grateful for your participation in this forum and my apologies for this most unfortunate oversight, which I must now attend to. Good day, my friends.

Indeed, remarkably low rates of marijuana use among the Dutch are a tremendously revealing phenomena. In fairness to Costa, it's certainly hard to imagine what he could say about such a thing, thus his rant about the controversy over Dutch coffeeshops was a good try despite its total irrelevance.

Next time, I recommend easing him into it by asking whether he even concedes that marijuana use in the Netherlands is lower than in surrounding nations. He'll respond by calling attention to a pretty bird perched outside the window. Attendees will turn their heads in unison to discover that the bird is not of notable prettiness.