NEW DUTCH WEED

in amsterdam a coalition of political parties unveiled a pilot program last week to regulate marijuana farming on the model of tobacco, which oppents say would be tantamount to legalizing growing the drug..(no duh)\under the test program, to be condducted in the southern city of Maastricht, existing health and safety standards will apply to growers, but they would no longer be the target of police raids or prosecution.
coffee shops permitted to sell marijuana would be required to provide consumers with information about the health hazards of smoking-similar to tobacco companies- and the chemical content of the marijuana.
the shops would also have to say where they bought the jmarijuana they sell, which proponents say will deter growers from operation dangerous underground greenhouses.
under currrent Dutch policy, marijuana and hashish are illegal, but police dont prosecute for possession of less than one ounce. authorieties also look the other way regarding the open sale of cannabis in designated coffee shops.
but commercial growing is outlawed, giving rise to a contradictory system in which shop owners have no lega way to purchase their best-selling product.
opponents, however, have argued that regulation could open the door to outright legalization of marijuana in a country that already has some of europe's most lenient drug laws.
the coalition of parties gave Mr. Balkenende until today to implement the testing program, after which lawmakers said they will introduce a bill in Parliament to do it. They said that about 2/3's of Parliament members supposrt the plan...

hm.....do i hear the packing of luggage bags and the slaming of doors as bodies are hurling them selves into airplanes all over america..??one one way ticket to amsterdam please...