just curious if this news article about amsterdam is real

[Mr Karl]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...msterdam_.html



it sounds kind of interesting but I think it's probably a bent view of what really is

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

It is showing up in other news sources, but it looks like they are still challenging it in court. If it does happen, I say it is time for California to step up and take the reigns. We could use an extra 6 million tourists a year.

[Raza]

It is! This place really hasn't been living up to its bad reputation lately; I'm seriously considering fucking off someplace else. The pot issue doesn't affect me much, but they've been ruining far more than that.

Funny to see that even americans think of our current government as 'far right', though.

[aXa]

oh great. last time i checked, wasn't it also a lil hard to leave a coffee shop with some pot that you bought therein? while i can understand wanting to make the shops open for residents only, wont that just lead to tourists doing illegal things to get in, or buying and smoking the pot somewhere else?

sadly, i am no longer sure which is my most vivid memory of my visit to the city - was it pot related or was it the airport when i left, and i dropped some change and had a submachine gun leveled at my head by a jumpy guard from a few feet away? i am sure that it was much, scarier because i was still pretty damn baked(stoned-over if you know what i mean).

[Raza]

oh great. last time i checked, wasn't it also a lil hard to leave a coffee shop with some pot that you bought therein?

Never had a problem doing this. You're allowed to carry up to 5 grams on your person.

while i can understand wanting to make the shops open for residents only, wont that just lead to tourists doing illegal things to get in, or buying and smoking the pot somewhere else?

Clearly, yes. Pot culture will get smaller but more criminal; more difficult to control, but easier to blame. You have to keep in mind the two political demographics backing this, though; christian democrats who aren't so much against drug-related problems as they are simply against drugs and who will consider it a moral victory even if it isn't a practical one, and hardline rightwingers who honestly believe any problem can be solved if you just outlaw it hard enough.

[Mr Karl]

huh.......I haven't been keeping up with much lately, but I was a little suprised when I saw that