In the 1995 report of the Vienna-based UN agency INCB (International Narcotics Control Board), the agency expresses "continued concern at the persistence of certain practices" [regarding drugs policy] in the Netherlands.
There has been much discussion about the future of Dutch drugs policy, specially after the Dutch Labour Party Congress, of which Dutch Premier Wim Kok is a member, came out in favour of legalization of so called 'soft' drugs. A few days after this, French President Chirac decided not to take part in the 'drugs summit' scheduled for March 7 in the Hague.
Shortly thereafter a collaborative study by TNO (the Dutch network of research institutes), Health Leiden, and the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health in Utrecht reported that Dutch schoolchildren in the 11-18 years age-group in 1995 used far more alcohol and marijuana than did schoolchildren in the same age-group in 1990. The percentage of pupils who have ever drunk alcohol has increased from 55 percent to 65 percent, and the percentage that said they had ever used marijuana more than doubled since 1990 - from 7 to 17 percent. No comparisons could be made for ecstasy use, because the national pupil survey in 1990 did not investigate ecstasy.
The liberal Dutch drugs policy seems to have contributed to an increase in the use of marijuana, contrary to what is often claimed by the Dutch (and other advocates) of liberalisation and/or legalization.
On March 11, worried citizens and organisations in the Netherlands arranged a hearing in Hilversum on Dutch drugs policy with national and international participants. It is obvious that the so called Dutch example is a cause for concern, not only abroad, but more and more also in the Netherlands.
On Monday March 18, starting 11.15 am, a parliamentary commission for justice, public health, welfare and sport will meet to discuss Dutch drugs policy. This comes as a surprise as it was assumed that there would be a plenary meeting of the parliament. However, the commission will meet in the plenary meeting room of the parliament as a large audience is expected to attend. The reasons for conducting the debate in the commission instead of the full house is not known. The meeting cannot result in the drafting of a new law as that requires participation of the whole parliament.
What then, are the INCB (International Narcotics Control Board) views on Dutch drugs policy?
"The Board notes recent initiatives taken by the Government of the Netherlands in an effort to bring its drug policy more in line with the international drug control treaties. It notes with satisfaction that the Government and the parliament of the Netherlands are taking into consideration, during their discussions, the provisions of the international drug control treaties, the impact of their decisions on the drug control policy of other States and on the illicit traffic situation and the views expressed in the report of the Board 1993 (Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1993, paragraph 285).
At the same time, however, the Board expresses its continued concern at the persistence of certain practices, only slightly altered, which call into question the Government of the Netherlands' fidelity to its treaty obligations. This includes continuing the failed policy of 'separation of markets' (Report of the Narcotics Control Board for 1993, paragraph 285), tolerating the continued cultivation of nederwiet provided that it is of lower THC content, permitting the operation of so-called coffee shops, many of which have fallen under the control of criminal elements, and continuing to stockpile narcotic drugs for non-medical purposes. The Board will continue to observe closely the progress made by the Government of the Netherlands in fulfilling its treaty obligations". (page 58, paragraph 350)
"The Netherlands has become a significant producer of cannabis cultivated indoors. In 1994, about 500.000 such plants were seized by law enforcement authorities in that country. According to ICPO/Interpol, the THC contents of cannabis in the Netherlands ranges from 9 percent to 22 percent. Seeds are exported to countries in western and eastern Europe, where they are used for indoor cultivation of higly potent cannabis. In the opinion of the Board, the export of such seeds for illicit cultivation purposes is against the provisions of the 1961 Convention and the 1988 Convention and is contrary to the regulations of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union (Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1994, paragraph 287).
The export of technical expertise from the Netherlands to other countries plays an important role in the propagation of illicit indoor cannabis cultivation in Europe". (Pages 59-60, paragraph 360)
"Amphetamine is widely available in most countries in Europe; large quantities of amphetamine, originating mainly in the Netherlands but also in Poland, have been seized in several countries in western Europe and in the Nordic States...". (page 61, paragraph 371)
"Considerable increases in cases involving the seizure or abuse of MDMA and similar hallucinogenic amphetamines have been reported in France, Italy, Spain and some other countries. In Spain, in the first three months of 1995, more than 200.000 units of such drugs were seized, nearly twice the figure for the entire year in 1994. In 1994, the largest ever MDMA laboratory was seized at Amsterdam. The Netherlands remains the major supplier of hallucinogenic amphetamines, but substantial amounts of such drugs originate in eastern European countries. There are signs that the manufacture of synthetic drugs has continued in the Baltic States, where control and detection of illicit drug manufacture and trafficking are hindered by the large number of chemical and pharmaceutical companies". (Pages 61-62, paragraph 373)
HASSELA NORDIC NETWORK - Press release 15/03/96