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Netherlands: Manipulation of marijuana figures by former Dutch Justice Minister Opstelten exposed. Nol van Schaik nolvanshaikblogspot Sunday 12 Apr 2015 Why the Dutch cannabis industry lost it's head start to the US, Spain and Uruguay. The Netherlands have been the example of how to handle the consumption and tolerated and regulated sales of cannabis for almost 40 years now, an example that enabled other countries, like Uruguay, Spain and the US to get out of the strangle hold of prohibition. Without this example, and the people that stood and stand up for the Dutch cannabis tolerance system, serving as a decades running experiment for the world to see and experience, it would not have been possible for pre-mentioned countries to follow that example the way they did. I am proud to be one of those standing up for cannabis in the Netherlands, not because I was eager to do so, but because of my profession, I am the co-owner of two coffeeshops in Haarlem. I am also a pro-cannabis activist, not because I chose to be one, but because the Dutch authorities made me stand up for my livelihood in their many attempts to close my businesses down, for good. Together with me, my 600 something colleague cannabis entrepreneurs, the last Cannabicans, should be proud they are still open, against all odds. I use the lather expression because it finally came to light that 'our' former Justice Minister, Ivo Opstelten, has gone all out to get the coffeeshops closed, any which way he could. He used manipulated, so, fake figures, falsely stating 80% of the cannabis produced by Dutch illegal growers was exported to countries surrounding our cannabis oasis, to get funds for a Hemp Task Force. He managed to get the support of the Dutch coalition to go after everyone and everything that reeked of cannabis, even after a baker that baked bread with hemp flour, and even with sniffer cards reeking of cannabis. The cards are called Scratch, Sniff and Snitch cards, and were handed out in cities, and intended to make people snitch on their neighbors, after they sniffed the card and identified this as similar to the smell coming from the house next door. My colleagues and me have been watching, in awe, how the cannabusiness has developed in the US over the last couple of years, while we were being pounded by new, more restrictive cannabis laws and even more proposals for a more repressive cannabis policy. As it turns out now, it was all because of a bunch of lies by a few sick people in charge of our cannabis and coffeeshop policy. My personal feelings about the exposure of the fraudulent acts of our former Justice Minister are still in limbo, should I be glad it finally came out, or am I furious because it confirms what I have been outing on this blog for the last years? We have a new Justice Minister since Opstelten had to step down over a not-so-secret deal with a known drugs trader, but I doubt if that is an improvement, he seems to be a liar as well, judging by his first tweet about cannabis after he took the Justice Office: “I know people that died from weed or hash” That is impossible, and I feel backed by science and statistics stating this, but he stated he knows people that died from weed or hash, not that he 'knows off people' or 'knew people' that died from those softdrugs. His dumb tweet makes him look like the “Ganja Ghost Whisperer' and it made me lose the hope I had for possible progress towards legalisation of cannabis production for coffeeshops. The day we found out Opstelten had to bite the dust, we had small celebrations in coffeeshops, and we were convinced it could not get worse than what we had to endure under stuttering Ivo, but we were all wrong. Minister van der Steur started his career as Justice Minister with a lie, at least Opstelten took a few months to create a lie, a lie nevertheless, but he was not as blunt and stupid as his successor. Van der Steur will have to come up with name and addresses of the three cannabis overdose victims now, as demanded by the opposition. In the meanwhile, the City of Denver, Colorado, is preparing for this month's 4:20 celebration, it will probably break the record in number of attendees for a Marijuana Event. There will be nothing to celebrate over, in Amsterdam on April 20th, there will not even be a pro cannabis legalization rally or demonstration, like the previous few years. The Dutch cannabis-industry and -culture are just trying to survive, after former Justice Minister Opstelten managed to get all growshops closed, just before he was expelled over covering up information about an illegal dopedeal. The new Dutch Justice Minister, van der Steur, will have to come up with evidence of the three dead 'weed or hash' smokers he seems to know, if not, he is just another shameless liar, like his disgraced predecessor, Ivo Opstelten. The Dutch growers have to import their grow equipment from across the border now, in Belgium, or from websites with their base outside the Netherlands. The coffeeshops are relying more and more on imported 'Nederweed' from countries like Belgium, Spain, Poland and even Germany nowadays, Opstelten's lies about the export percentages of Nederwiet are busted, twice. The only thing the Dutch cannabis industry has in common with the Colorado cannabis industry is the tax payments over their weed and hash sales, the 600+ coffeeshops 'contribute' a staggering 400 million €€ per year. The way of spending the tax money from cannabis, however, has no similarities, in Colorado it is being used to finance schools and education, in the Netherlands it is being used to finance the Hemp Task Force, so they can eliminate grow operations to try to end the supply to the coffeeshops. All we want is licensed cannabis producers, not another lying cannabis prohibitionist for Minister. Nol van Schaik Cannabis entrepreneur since 1991. http://nolvanschaik.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/manipulation-of-marijuana-figures-by.html
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