BOB KEIZER: THERE'S NOTHING SOFT ABOUT DUTCH DRUGS POLICY

From a speech by a Dutch government drugs adviser at the Cannabis:
Shaping a New Agenda conference, held in Liverpool

To understand Dutch drug policy it is essential to know something of
the Netherlands, as policies are in keeping with the characteristics
and culture of the country that produces them. The Dutch have a
strong belief in individual freedom and in the division between
"church" (in other words, morality) and state. We believe in
pragmatism and have a strong sense of responsibility for collective
welfare. Our administrative system is decentralised to the local
authorities to a large extent, particularly where drug policy is
concerned.

These characteristics are reflected in our present drug policy, which
was formulated in the mid-Seventies. A wide range of addict-care
facilities is available. Dutch policy does not moralise, but is based
on the assumption that drug use is a fact and must be dealt with as
practically as possible. Our most important objective is to prevent,
or to limit, the risks and harm associated with drug use, both to the
user himself and to his environment. Because of this, the Ministry of
Health is responsible for co-ordinating drug policy.

Many people think that drugs are legally available in the Netherlands
and that we make no effort to combat the supply side of the drug
market. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is continual
intensive co-operation between the addict-care system, the judicial
authorities and the public administrators. With the exception of
small-scale cannabis dealing in coffee shops, since 1976, tackling
all other forms of drug dealing and production has high priority.

Cannabis use in the Netherlands, as in all other countries, has
increased in recent years and the age at which users start has
gradually decreased. There are, however, signs that cannabis use is
stabilising and even decreasing in the Netherlands. The trend towards
increased use and the present scale of use are comparable with those
in the surrounding countries of Germany, France and Belgium and
certainly lower than those in the UK and the US.

Thanks to a high standard of care and prevention, including the
large-scale dispensation of methadone and clean hypodermics, the
number of hard drug (heroin or cocaine) addicts, stabilised about 10
years ago, at the level of 2.5 per 1,000 inhabitants. This means that
the Netherlands is among the three countries, after Finland and
Germany, with the smallest number of problem addicts in the European
Union. Although not an ideal policy, bearing in mind our objective of
harm limitation, our drugs policy is reasonably successful.

Coffee shop policy is administered locally. Many of the petty
criminal problems surrounding the coffee shops can be traced back to
the fact that local administrators and police did not really know how
the policy should be pursued. Hardly surprising since the coffee
shops are still operating in an administrative no-man's land. Sales
of cannabis "at the front door" are not legal, but they are
tolerated. However, purchases "at the back door" do not fall under
this policy of tolerance. In practice, this means that the coffee
shop owner is forced to buy the cannabis on the illegal market.
Therefore something that is forbidden is nonetheless tolerated. The
mayors, police chiefs and politicians continue to support the concept
and there is debate now about allowing a system of cultivation of
cannabis to supply a limited number of coffee shops.

Closing the coffee shops would certainly lead to an increase in
dealing on the streets, in private homes and in school playgrounds.
This would undoubtedly be accompanied by hard drug sales, while the
rate of use among the population would not decline, bearing in mind
the figures for use in other countries.