OPINIONS FROM AFAR

Columnists Take in Politics, Finance and More on Travels

In Holland, John Tierney stops off at one of Amsterdam's many coffee
shops that sell marijuana legally and wishes "America's drug
warriors" had come along so "they could see that the patrons puffing
on joints generally don't look any more zombie-like than the crowd at
an American bar - or, for that matter, a congressional subcommittee
listening to a lecture on the evils of marijuana."
The New York Times columnist reports that surveys show "the Dutch
generally use drugs less than Americans do," despite the U.S.
government's "anti-pot passion."

The coffee shop owner theorizes that "drugs are just less interesting
here," and he tells of a friend who never smoked marijuana - until, at
age 32, she vacationed in the United States. "I asked her why," the
owner tells Mr. Tierney, "and she said: 'It was more fun over there.
It was illegal.' "