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Dutch Cops Banned from Smoking Weed
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by Jordan Yerman | December 15, 2007 at 04:13 pm
930 views | 15 Recommendations | 5 comments
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It's worth keeping in mind that marijuana is decriminalized (and not prosecuted) in the Netherlands: the equivalent would be banning NYPD officers from an off-duty beer. Fuhgeddaboudit.
Police in Amsterdam are complaining overnew rules banning them from smoking cannabis while off duty.Officers in the Dutch capital, famous for its liberal drugs laws, have been told they must set the public "a good moral example".
The ban, due to come into effect on January 1, will make the force the first in the Netherlands to bar officers from using drugs when not at work.
Frank Gittay, the city's police council chairman, said: "Until now police were only banned from showing up for work stoned or drunk.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 17:35 on December 15th, 2007
jordan, Good stuff. I was so lookin' forward to a career in law enforcement in Amsterdam. Oh well! Guess i'll just be a bartender.
at 18:17 on December 15th, 2007
Good stuff.
at 23:06 on December 15th, 2007
Jordan, despite popular urban legend, marijuana is not legal in the Netherlands. It is, however, not a criminal offense to possess minor amounts for personal use. Public use is in most cases frequently ignored by police unless one is making a total nuisance of themselves. It does not share the same classification as alcohol and to report that it does is irresponsible.
at 09:04 on December 16th, 2007
Thanks for weighing in! In Nederland, one will not be prosecuted for personal use of marijuana, and doctors may legally prescribe it. You are right in terms of the legal classification, though the analogy still stands.
at 21:40 on December 16th, 2007
One may not be prosecuted for smaller amounts, but one can still be ticketed for it. Additionally, marijuana here still carries a stigma in general society. Alcohol is by far the preferred method to get wasted and the legal drinking age to purchase and consume is 16, which reflects its preferred social standing.
Your analogy is incorrect. If a person smokes weed here, it will in most cases be in the privacy of their own homes and they won't brag about their use of it because it still carries a social stigma here. The fact that the police have raised the morality bar for their own should tell you something, Jordan.