(December 2003) '60's Utrecht Surprise: after the 30th anniversary celebrations of cannabis coffee shops in Holland were held in August 2002, CNN International reported in December 2003 that Holland's first cannabis coffee shop in the modern era, Coffee Shop Sarasani, was started in Utrecht in 1968, a full 5 years prior to Mellow Yellow's start. Since Utrecht is considered the ultra-Dutch "heart" of Holland, really, I think the Amsterdam cannabis-coffee-shop traditions owe more to this than Amsterdam's internationalism. Internationalism is threatning Holland's pot culture which is totally accepted in more "Dutch" places like Rotterdam and Utrecht.
First Dutch cannabis cafe marks 30th anniversary
By Paul Gallagher
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) - It's 1972. Step inside the abandoned Amsterdam bakery where pot-smoking squatters are playing table soccer. Meet Wernard and his hippie friends, pioneers of the first Dutch cannabis cafe.
The 30th anniversary of the opening of the "Mellow Yellow" cafe is being commemorated in the Netherlands Friday when cannabis smokers pay tribute to a taboo-busting enterprise that spearheaded the spread of the renowned Dutch "Coffee Shop." The cafe thrived for six years before it closed down. But by 1978 other coffee shops were opening in a city that was a mecca for anarchists, hippies, squatters and drop-outs. Toleration of cannabis grew and coffee shops blossomed. Three decades after "Mellow Yellow" opened on the banks of the Amstel river, Amsterdam remains the one city in the world where people can wander into a special cafe and buy a small amount of cannabis without fearing arrest or prosecution. Dutch cannabis entrepreneurs and connoisseurs are throwing a party in a sports hall in the sedate town of Haarlem, near Amsterdam, Friday in tribute to the founder of "Mellow Yellow," Wernard Bruining.
"It's going to be a nice reunion for pioneers and old cannabis souls," party organizer and coffee shop owner Nol van Schaik told Reuters.
Today there are about 800 coffee shops in the Netherlands and in Amsterdam there is a booming trade in the sale of marijuana and hashish to tourists visiting a city renowned for its museums and red light district.
PERMISSIVE ATTITUDE
The Dutch decision to turn a blind eye to the sale of small amounts of cannabis by licensed coffee shops evolved in the 1970s and developed over the following decades, cementing the country's reputation for liberalism and tolerance.
"Soft drugs will never go away. I think in the next 20 to 30 years the rest of Europe will become a lot like Holland," said 52-year-old Bruining.
"The basis of tolerance is that you avoid annoying other people. You are basically free in Holland to do what you want to do but don't annoy other people," said Bruining, who now works as a tour guide.
The "Mellow Yellow," which started as a haunt for long-haired friends sharing a joint, ran the gauntlet of police raids as eager pot smokers lined up around the block to get inside. But the tide did not take long to turn. In 1976 the Dutch government introduced legislation distinguishing between hard drugs and soft drugs including cannabis. Possession of up to 30 grams (one ounce) was decriminalized in 1978. Dutch drugs policy continued evolving over the next 25 years with a strong focus on fighting heroin addiction in the 1980s. In 1987, Amsterdam started providing clean syringes to combat the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug users with the number of drug-related deaths falling sharply.
While cannabis technically remains illegal in the Netherlands, its use and sale is now tolerated under strict conditions imposed by the government. The emphasis is on keeping users of soft and hard drugs apart.
"Cannabis is not risk-free, but it is certainly not more harmful than alcohol or tobacco," the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction said. International opinion on the health dangers of cannabis and the Dutch policy of toleration remain divided. British doctors said this month that smoking cannabis increases the odds of suffering depression and schizophrenia.
But cannabis also has a long history of medicinal use. The Netherlands last year became the second country after Canada to allow the medical use of marijuana.
11/29/02 11:14 ET
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
(((click on image to visit celebration announcement in Haarlem)))
(Click on image above.)
(((NORML Canada article follows.)))
Since 1968 or so, Holland has Created the Modern Cannabis Consumer Era.
What distinguishes Holland from most every other place where marijuana is commonly consumed, is that the pot consumer is given a choice of what kind of cannabis to purchase rather than being forced to buy whatever a pusher wants to push. Consequently, only the very best cannabis is available there. This isn't a "take it or leave it" scene. The entire marijuana scene in Holland is so civilized and enjoyable that once experienced, a deep positive impression is made which re-programs our inner judgements of marijuana. In fact, "drug pushing" is not an accurate description of the Dutch marijuana scenario. Some cannabis coffee shop links : click here, or click here for Homegrown Fantasy, or click here for the Bulldog (1975), or click here for Rusland (1974), other Amsterdam links.
Featured Political Quote(2):
MEP (Member of European Parliament) Chris Davies Smoking Passionate 'bout Pot Coffee Shops"I have never used cannabis in my life, but I am passionate in my belief that the law must be changed and that there must be a separation between soft and hard drugs if we are to cut crime and reduce harm. I made this protest in support of the first cannabis coffee shop in Britain, which operated peacefully in nearby Stockport for more than a year, and in support of its founder, my namesake, Colin Davies. He has now been sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but if he was in Holland he would have been given a license by the local council. The Dutch policy of permitting cannabis coffee shops has ensured that cannabis users need never come across heroin dealers. It has been hugely successful. Holland now has the smallest problem of drugs misuse in Europe, and the lowest rate of heroin addiction. The separation of soft and hard drugs works, and we should follow this example."
North West Euro-Member of Parliament (European Parliament member) Chris Davies, after being sentenced by Manchester Crown Court, England, after protesting the closing of England's first cannabis coffee shop. (Oct. 31, 2002 Drug Policy Alliance)
