One difference, though, is that people who use drugs illegally demonstrate their disdain for the law, and this disdain often extends into other domains, so dopers who use illegal drugs are often marginal in their honesty and willingness to abide by the law in a general sense.>

and why pray tell don't other law breaking similarly translate into a disdain for the law. At least pot smokers' disdain is because they believe it should not be illegal compared to much more dangerous and lethal drugs like alcohol and Nicotine - but why would other law breakers not react similarly - and thus yes I believe you would condemn Rosa Parks for daring break a law she and others found odious - if your ideas were in charge Rose Parks and Blacks would still be riding in the back of the bus and using 'Colored Drinking Fountains' only.

Legalizing pot is the equivalent of gaining equal rights? I learn something new here every day.

And the George Washington/Thomas Jefferson anecdote is only a half truth. Our Founding Fathers grew hemp for export and use in making ropes for the British navy and merchant marine. Hemp was also used for paper making and clothing. Neither were all that sucessful at it and made their living primarily through tobacco production. That they DID smoke.

Legalizing pot is the equivalent of gaining equal rights? I learn something new here every day.>

Well of course it referred to Anthony's idea that anyone who broke one law was likely to be a serial law-breaker and thus the appropriate analogy between Rosa Parks' daring to break a law and folks who get high doing similarly. Rosa Parks of course probably never broke any other law later in life and pot smokers are no more likely to than the too-perfect-to-be-true Anthony types - yet I find the Anthony types who consider ANY law breaking dangerous as it leads to a slippery slope - and thus why I say he would have been a good Nazi, etc.

Drug use is almost as bad as drug abuse. I'm wary of people who need to take drugs to alter their perception or tolerance of reality.

And yes, breaking other laws does encourage people to break laws in general. I suppose people who smoke pot are more likely to infringe on copyrights as well.

The truth about cannabis is that it's a drug, just like alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, and heroin. I prefer to avoid people who use drugs; they have too many issues. You can do what you want.

If an area has a reputation for heavy drug use, such as Amsterdam, then I stay away. I know that there are others who rush to such places. To each his own.

And yes, breaking other laws does encourage people to break laws in general. I suppose people who smoke pot are more likely to infringe on copyrights as well.>

YOU suppose - do you have any evidence supporting your drivelous accusations? What leads you to suppose pot smokers infringe on copyrights any more than straight arrows like you?

Of course you have none - just like for all your other accusations that are baseless and complete drivel IMO.


<The truth about cannabis is that it's a drug, just like alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, and heroin. I prefer to avoid people who use drugs; they have too many issues. You can do what you want.>

so straight arrow Anthony - you avoid all folks who use pot, alcohol, who smoke, etc - is there anyone you can stand to be around?

You seriously avoid anyone who uses caffeine? Wow that is totally mind boggling and says a lot about you. Have you been vict8imized by caffeine drinkers? Do folks who use caffeine infringe more on copyrights than say Mormons?

Well perhaps you are a Mormon with you desire to avoid anyone who drinks, smokes tobacco, takes any drug or even drinks caffeine!

Wow!

Latest news is that some cannabis will be regarded as a hard drug in the future, not a soft drug. Cannabis in the Netherlands is stronger than elsewhere and often has 18% THC or more.
The new rule will be any cannabis with a THC content higher than 15% will be counted as a hard drug.

With all respect for the cute little battle here for or against dope, I think that there are more important developments in the Netherland to worry about than the cannabis issue.

I agree Cowboy, but that's not what this topic is all about.

Well I think it could be a very important issue to the Dutch - a symbolic thing that, like the abolishment of Amsterdam's Red-Light district as we know it, marks a big change from the ballyhooed 'tolerance' of the Dutch - stemming from days when the Pilgrims fled their from England for more religious freedoms, etc.

this and other issues like the current move by the Dutch Parliament to ban the slaughtering of animals according to Moslem and Jewish traditions - on the basis of animal cruelty - fine but it has been cruel to do this to animals for years and was allowed - but now a crackdown as Holland, incredibly to me, moves to the right.

Dutch people couldn't care less about the RLD - they regard it, quite rightly as the home of Mafia figures, criminals and people traffickers.

As for slaughtering animals - there will be exceptions allowed on the religious grounds, providing it is proved the animals won't suffer. At the moment nearly all animals are slaughtered according to Halal rules - and many Christians and others are unhappy about that, for religious reasons and for animal welfare reasons.

Holland has never been as liberal and tolerant as foreigners seem to think. It is ruled by coalition always, and nearly always the fundamentalist Christians have a say it the coalition and they are anything but liberal and tolerant.
The whole world seems to be moving to the right, but still no where near as far to the right as the US is likely to go in November 2012.

I am curious as to whether the Smart Shops that sell hallucigenic mushrooms will institute a similar sales to Dutch residents only?

Smart shops are a thing of the past. Banned in 2008.

No incorrect I believe since in January 2010 I saw several Smart shops still in operation and they told me they were not banned but that the type of mushrooms they could sell was banned - they could only sell wet and thus more natural shrooms and not the more potent dried ones. I wonder if this system is continuing.

They will doubtless fall under the same scheme. The whole idea is to stop drugs tourism so I imagine that will include paddos, though the market for paddos is very small.

Maybe the Smart shops will close because as far as I could see they were patronized largely by non-Dutch tourists - like young folk from France - like long ago when my son and his friends went there are exported a ton back home! Stupid but young folk do stupid things - these type of activities are a big reason why the change in the law - no doubt with a lot of French pressure.