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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Dutch official recommends drug cafes
Helen Carter The Guardian
Wednesday 20 Feb 2002 A drug policy adviser from the Netherlands said yesterday that cafes which sell cannabis should be opened in Britain. Bob Keizer, who works for the ministry of health in the Netherlands, told the inaugural cannabis conference in Liverpool there was no reason why cannabis cafes should not work in the UK. The conference brought together public health officials, drugs workers, police and cannabis campaigners. It was organised after home secretary David Blunkett's announcement that cannabis was to be reclassified from a class B to a class C drug which opened debate about decriminalisation. "In the Netherlands... decriminalisation has not led to an increase in cannabis use," said Mr Keizer. "The fact that young people don't get a criminal record for using the drug a few times is a very positive element of our policy. Police are able to invest their capacity in more serious crimes. "Cannabis cafes help to take dealers off the street. If we allow them in this country there will be less street dealing. If the cafes close, the dealers return." The conference was organised by Mark Bellis, of the Northwest Public Health Observatory. He said: "There are negative aspects because of its association with tobacco use, but if it were decriminalised it would allow police to concentrate on heroin." Not all the delegates were in favour of decriminalisation. John Witton, of the National Addiction Centre in London, said cannabis has been linked to increased risk of cancers.
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