Metallama
08-05-2008, 07:30 PM
Hello everybody immersed in the world of mind alteration.
I live in the Netherlands and as most people who use drugs are familiar with, we have a drug tolerance policy.
In my opinion, this policy is a good one, although it has it's drawbacks (just like everything in life, by the way). I was wondering how the rest of the world viewed this policy. But then I'll first have to explain it.
In short, this is how it works:
- Marijuana, Salvia Divinorum and Magic Mushrooms have been semi-legalised. These are called "softdrugs".
- To acquire any of these you must be 18 years of age or above.
- The government has also established a maximum amount you can carry along concerning weed (to stop dealers from being able to legally drag loads of pot around to sell it to minors). You can buy only 5 grams of weed at an appointed shop, and officially spoken you can't carry more than 5 grams with you. But usually law enforcers do not prosecute you when you carry less that 30 grams.
- You are not allowed to use any of these substances in public domain, except some bars, coffeehouses, concert halls and festivals which specifically allow usage of weed. The shops which sell weed ofcourse provide accomodations for usage.
- You are allowed to grow your own quantities of these substances to certain extent. You are allowed to keep five marijuana plants (for personal use), and because mushrooms and salvia are sold far less and rarely sold outside the appointed shops you can grow as much of those as you want.
- Weed is sold in Coffeeshops. (Semi-)legalised drugs, or legal substances with drug effects are sold in smartshops, along with all the equipment needed to enhance drug experiences, or to aid your body after bad experiences with (hard)drugs. Home-growth equipment and seeds are sold at Growshops.
- Only cities may have these shops within their borders, and not too close to schools. What further limitations are applied is different in every city.
There are, however, some strange side-notes to this policy.
For example, the use and sale of these drugs have only been semi-legalised out of political stance (to not seem soft and powerless to other countries, that is).
This leads to strange situations, because Coffeeshop owners are not allowed to stock more that 100-150 grams and they are not allowed to buy these amounts, because they'd have to buy it from a dealer, which is illegal. Dealers get the weed from growers, who'd have to own more than five plants to get large amounts of weed, which is also illegal.
Personally, I think the policy works great, because although it's easy for people (minors included) to be high on drugs all the time, it's still not all that dangerous because the addictive potential of weed is very low (the noticeable effects are boredom when you're sober and nicotine addiction from the (usually) needed tabacco to roll the joints).
Salvia and mushrooms have virtually zero addictive potential, both mentally and physically, so the only thing threatening about it is the overwhelming experience. But since Smartshops give very detailed information and support about how to safely use it, that's also relatively safe.
Also, since THC triggers tolerance adaption, it's impossible to constantly be high on weed because you don't feel anything of it anymore when you use too much. Psilocybin and psilocin (mushrooms) only have effect once every week, and only have full potential again a month after the last time used. Salvia only lasts 10-15 minutes and only has psychedelic effects.
Since it's no real tabboo in the Netherlands, it's far easier to get support when you have a problem as a result of using softdrugs. Also, since it's fairly easy to acquire these substances, people interested in trying it are not forced to find a dealer and immediately be involved with criminals. Next to that, you can also be sure that whatever you get will always be safe, since shops can be held liable for bad quality drugs.
As far as I'm concerned every country should adopt this policy, because it solves a lot of issues concerning use of less dangerous drugs. Although I do think these drugs should be officially legalised, only controlled like alcohol. Not just semi-legalised to avoid criticism. And weed should be grown legally by people with special permits, who are controlled by the government every now and then.
I live in the Netherlands and as most people who use drugs are familiar with, we have a drug tolerance policy.
In my opinion, this policy is a good one, although it has it's drawbacks (just like everything in life, by the way). I was wondering how the rest of the world viewed this policy. But then I'll first have to explain it.
In short, this is how it works:
- Marijuana, Salvia Divinorum and Magic Mushrooms have been semi-legalised. These are called "softdrugs".
- To acquire any of these you must be 18 years of age or above.
- The government has also established a maximum amount you can carry along concerning weed (to stop dealers from being able to legally drag loads of pot around to sell it to minors). You can buy only 5 grams of weed at an appointed shop, and officially spoken you can't carry more than 5 grams with you. But usually law enforcers do not prosecute you when you carry less that 30 grams.
- You are not allowed to use any of these substances in public domain, except some bars, coffeehouses, concert halls and festivals which specifically allow usage of weed. The shops which sell weed ofcourse provide accomodations for usage.
- You are allowed to grow your own quantities of these substances to certain extent. You are allowed to keep five marijuana plants (for personal use), and because mushrooms and salvia are sold far less and rarely sold outside the appointed shops you can grow as much of those as you want.
- Weed is sold in Coffeeshops. (Semi-)legalised drugs, or legal substances with drug effects are sold in smartshops, along with all the equipment needed to enhance drug experiences, or to aid your body after bad experiences with (hard)drugs. Home-growth equipment and seeds are sold at Growshops.
- Only cities may have these shops within their borders, and not too close to schools. What further limitations are applied is different in every city.
There are, however, some strange side-notes to this policy.
For example, the use and sale of these drugs have only been semi-legalised out of political stance (to not seem soft and powerless to other countries, that is).
This leads to strange situations, because Coffeeshop owners are not allowed to stock more that 100-150 grams and they are not allowed to buy these amounts, because they'd have to buy it from a dealer, which is illegal. Dealers get the weed from growers, who'd have to own more than five plants to get large amounts of weed, which is also illegal.
Personally, I think the policy works great, because although it's easy for people (minors included) to be high on drugs all the time, it's still not all that dangerous because the addictive potential of weed is very low (the noticeable effects are boredom when you're sober and nicotine addiction from the (usually) needed tabacco to roll the joints).
Salvia and mushrooms have virtually zero addictive potential, both mentally and physically, so the only thing threatening about it is the overwhelming experience. But since Smartshops give very detailed information and support about how to safely use it, that's also relatively safe.
Also, since THC triggers tolerance adaption, it's impossible to constantly be high on weed because you don't feel anything of it anymore when you use too much. Psilocybin and psilocin (mushrooms) only have effect once every week, and only have full potential again a month after the last time used. Salvia only lasts 10-15 minutes and only has psychedelic effects.
Since it's no real tabboo in the Netherlands, it's far easier to get support when you have a problem as a result of using softdrugs. Also, since it's fairly easy to acquire these substances, people interested in trying it are not forced to find a dealer and immediately be involved with criminals. Next to that, you can also be sure that whatever you get will always be safe, since shops can be held liable for bad quality drugs.
As far as I'm concerned every country should adopt this policy, because it solves a lot of issues concerning use of less dangerous drugs. Although I do think these drugs should be officially legalised, only controlled like alcohol. Not just semi-legalised to avoid criticism. And weed should be grown legally by people with special permits, who are controlled by the government every now and then.