Pot cafes way to go

In support of "Name and adddress withheld", April 5.

Last year, I got to see legal marijuana cafes first hand.

Amsterdam has long been a famous for these and its red light district, but the truly amazing thing are (sic) the problems it has solved.

The law has been very simply defined. If it is natural it is legal, if it is manufactured, it is not.

This immediately separates marijuana from harder drugs like amphetamines and heroin etc. The penalties for harder drugs are harsh.

The typical "local" smokers at these cafes are aged 25-60.

The only younger people I saw were staff and the obvious Aussie and American back-packers.

The cafes are licensed, policed, must also sell food and are great examples of artistic expression with each one being different and appealing to different "stoner" tastes.

The result is the "taboo" is gone and even rules of etiquette have emerged with pot smokers not smoking in the vicinity of aged or very young people or people eating and asking visitors to honour this.

Because it is so easy to access the cafes the illegal pot trade has been almost eradicated.

Local growers say they have trouble keeping up with the legal supply so why bother with a black market?

We spent a lot of time going to every single one, although I did not see one under-age smoker and the friends we were visiting explained that the locals frowned on young people smoking.

As with alcohol they can try it when they are 18.

I have heard all sorts of reasons for providing government-funded needle exchange programs and injecting rooms, but the botom line is that by providing these, you are supporting and endorsing the use of harder drugs. With benefits only to the users, addicts remain addicts and the social problems and expenses associated with the illegal supply to these addicts continue to increase.

Could someone please tell me why a privately-funded cafe with its associated advantages to the community is out of the question?

The police and the courts would be instantly freed up and the drug houses would be out of business.

Just as hotels now require ID, so would a cafe.

Licences are paid to the local council and GST to the Commonwealth.

Instead of marijuana costing millions of dollars and hours each year, it would make money.

I challenge the NT Government or anyone else to publish a logical, sensible response to my question.

Or to at least study the situations in Canada objectively and consider the advantages to the community and the government coffers.

Jac Black

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: 29th April 2002
Source: Northern Territory News
Author: Jac Black (Letter to editor)
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Copyright: 2002 Northern Territory News