Source: ANP

23 april 2008

Woerden, 23 april. The cultivation of cannabis should become legal in the Netherlands. At the same time the government should organise the controlled distribution of hard drugs to addicts.

Only under these circumstances can the police make a serious effort to fight drug criminals.

These are the words of the retiring president of the large police association NPB (Nederlandse Politie Bond), Hans van Duijn, in an interview that is published today in a number of Dutch newspapers. According to him, the fight against drug related crime has had little result, but represents a heavy burden on police resources. Due to the many hours that police officers invest in the fight against drugs, other forms of criminality recieve too little attention, says Van Duijn.

In the end of May, Van Duijn (60) will resign as president of the NPB .

Terneuzen wants experiment with legal cannabis cultivation

Source: PZC

23 april 2008

Terneuzen – Substitute lord mayor of Terneuzen, Co van Schaik, believes that his city should start an experiment with legal cannabis cultivation.

With the experiment, Terneuzen can become an example for other municipalities in the Netherlands that likewise struggle with the current “lenient policy” towards softdrugs. Van Schaik reacts on the the declarations of resigning president Hans van Duijn of the police trade union NPB, who has proposed to completely legalise cannabis cultivation. According to Van Duijn the police can not win the fight against drug criminals. Legalising the cultivation of cannabis and organising the medical distribution of hard drugs to addicts would increase police capacity to focus on other forms of criminality, according to Van Duijn.

Van Schaik considers the experiment in Terneuzen as a intermediary step towards full legalisation of cannabis cultivation.

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