Cannabis Chronicles

Today is the day that tobacco smoking bans go into effect for coffee houses in the Netherlands, a somewhat controversial move that is actually very much in line with public smoking bans that are common in the E.U. and North America.

Here’s one look at the issue compliments of the Associated Press & BBC News . . .

Dutch smoking ban goes into force

A tobacco smoking ban has come into effect in cafes, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands.

The country is following a growing trend across Europe and the world of bans on smoking in public places.

Pro-smoking lobbyists say the ban will lead to a drop in business, but others say any losses will be made up by non-smokers going out more.

Patrons of cannabis cafes will still be allowed to smoke marijuana as long as it is not mixed with tobacco.

Possession of cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, but holders of small amounts are not prosecuted. Smoking cannabis is permitted in licensed cafes.

A Rotterdam cinema handed out free cigarettes on Monday night, hours before the ban came into force on Tuesday.

One hospitality industry forecast said there has been an increase in the number of businesses up for sale ahead of the ban, as owners anticipated slower business because of smokers staying away from restaurants, cafes and bars.

But other studies suggested that their numbers would be replaced by non-smokers going out more to enjoy a night out in a cleaner environment.

Any businesses caught allowing customers to smoke would be warned and repeat offenders would face escalating fines, Chris Krikken, a spokesman for the Food and Wares Authority charged with enforcing the ban, told the Associated Press.

Coverage by the BBC also included the following story . . .

Dutch coffee shops weed out tobacco

By Dominic Hughes
BBC News, Amsterdam

It is a lazy weekday afternoon inside the Rusland coffee shop, one of the oldest in Amsterdam.

For years locals and tourists have been coming here to relax in easy chairs, roll up a joint and lose a few hours as they take advantage of Amsterdam’s famously relaxed approach to marijuana.

But now, there is a cloud on the horizon. From Tuesday 1 July, the Dutch will impose a nationwide ban on smoking tobacco in cafes, bars and restaurants - meaning any joints rolled using tobacco will be illegal.

Strictly speaking, marijuana is illegal as well - but it is tolerated. So, perhaps oddly, the smoking of pure grass or hash will still be allowed.

Lung experts Pauline Dekker and Wanda de Kanter

“Exemption doesn’t work - that’s why we have to stop the abuse everywhere; that means also in coffee shops”

Not for the coffee

The coffee shop owners fought the ban for months, but to no avail.

Esther Delahaige, who works behind the bar at the Rusland, says no-one is quite sure how the customers will react.

“They don’t come here for the coffee, you know,” she says with a laugh.

“It’s going to be really hard. Everyone is just waiting to see. We’re all just really anxious to see what will happen. We don’t know.”

Over at the Red Cross Hospital in Beverwijk, just north of Amsterdam, Doctors Pauline Dekker and Wanda de Kanter know what they hope the ban will achieve.

These two lung experts - authors of a best-selling guide to giving up smoking - are looking forward to a drop in the number of smokers.

They see the damage done by smoking every working day, and they believe there can be no exceptions to the ban.

“Tobacco causes such great numbers of suffering,” says Dr Dekker.

“Here in Holland we’re a small country, but we still have nearly 4 million nicotine abusers. Two million of them will die because of their nicotine abuse.

“And one million will die between the ages of 35 and 69 - which is about 13 years too young. Exemption doesn’t work - that’s why we have to stop the abuse everywhere. That means also in coffee shops.”

No worries

Back in town at another coffee shop, the Greenhouse, a smoker pulls enthusiastically on a bubbling bong.

Many health professionals are increasingly worried about the psychological impact new stronger variations of cannabis can have, especially on young users.

And in the Greenhouse many of the customers - most of them British - do look young. To my eyes at least, some of them would be hard pushed to meet the strict over-18 age limit.

Like the bong smoker, many are already using cannabis without tobacco.

Some inhale from a medical vaporiser that heats the cannabis to 158 degrees Celsius, filling a plastic bag with pure THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

And Greenhouse owner and spokesman for the Dutch Cannabis Retailers Association, Arjan Roskam, says people are increasingly opting for a tobacco-free smoke. He is not worried about the impact of the new law.

“It’s much healthier to smoke cannabis than tobacco so actually it’s a very normal law,” he says.

“Slowly, everyone’s realising that tobacco is not the way to go. Most people smoke pure cannabis. And cannabis of course has much less health risks than tobacco, as we all know.”

Some doctors and psychologists would disagree with that last statement. But the Dutch authorities have clearly decided that it is tobacco that presents the most clear and present danger.

As a former tobacco smoker, Foggy certainly believes that tobacco is more damaging to lungs and health than is Cannabis. The nicotine present in tobacco is addictive, and it’s toxic in fairly small concentrations, as opposed to Cannabis, which is literally less toxic than water.

While Amsterdam’s coffee shops have a long tradition of offering joints that include tobacco, and while this may have some small negative economic impact on commerce in Amsterdam, it really is a step in the right direction. Amsterdam’s hash bars and similar establishments offer a unique atmosphere that attracts tourists from around the world, but from our bird’s eye view, there’s no pressing reason to exempt coffee shops from a tobacco ban.

A ban on all smoking in Amsterdam’s coffee houses, would be an entirely different thing, As long as customers are still allowed to smoke marijuana in the coffee shops, a ban on tobacco smoking is not terribly problematic from our bird’s eye perspective.

Obviously if you are currently addicted to tobacco, your mileage may vary.

Might we suggest a nicotine patch?