DUTCH MINISTER TAKES HIGH TONE OVER MARIJUANA JOBS

LEEUWARDEN, Netherlands, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A Dutch local authority has
provoked a minor outcry by subsidising work experience for the unemployed
in coffee shops selling marijuana.

Soft drugs are technically illegal in the Netherlands but their sale in
so-called coffee shops is tolerated under strict conditions, such as that
marijuana should not be sold to minors.

Social Affairs Minister Klaas de Vries said this week he was astonished by
Leeuwarden council's decision to pay the wages of four people selling
marijuana in some of the city's coffee shops.

The council doesn't see what the fuss is about.

In a letter to the minister, it noted that his predecessor, Ad Melkert, had
imposed no restrictions on the sectors qualifying for work experience
subsidies.

"If the minister believes the subsidies are not intended for this sector,
then the law should be changed (to reflect that)," the letter said.