By Anthony Deutsch
June 28, 2000 |
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- In a
country where selling small packets of hash and marijuana is already
openly tolerated, farmers in this Dutch nation may soon be able to grow
the soft drug without fear of punishment.
The Dutch parliament
adopted a resolution Tuesday to tolerate the cultivation of cannabis
and to regulate the crop, government officials said Wednesday.
Legislators from two of the three parties in the government coalition
drafted the motion, which passed the 150-seat chamber by a 73-72 vote.
But the vote was
so narrow that Justice Ministry spokesman Victor Holtus said it was
unlikely the cabinet would approve the resolution. It was to be discussed
Friday, and if endorsed, would then be drafted for legislation.
"It sharply
contradicts international agreements and we don't live on an island.
It is assumed that the minister won't support it," he said.
The motion avoids
using the term "legalization," apparently to curtail reaction
by other countries.
As any tourist to
Amsterdam soon learns, some 3,000 "coffee shops" openly sell
hash and marijuana for smoking, or hash cakes and cookies for eating.
But authorities
still crack down on the cultivation and supply of it. Tons of cannabis
grown in Dutch fields are impounded each year, even though some city
residents grow it in their window boxes.
"One of the
main objectives is to fight crime," said Labor Party parliamentarian
Thanasis Apostolou, who helped draft the motion. "By regulating
the supply we would know who is selling what and where it is going."
But Holtus said
the proposal would do nothing to curtail international crime syndicates.
The sponsors, he
said, "want to officially regulate a group of selected hemp growers
so they can keep tabs on the supply. Simply said: it's the legalization
of hemp cultivation. To call this anything else is just playing word
games."
The resolution aims
to curb exports -- an illegal business now worth up to $8.5 billion
annually, Apostolou told The Associated Press.