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Police banned from car drugs checks
18 February 2010

Police in Limburg have been told by judges to stop scanning car number plates in an effort to solve drugs crimes, the Telegraaf reports on Thursday.

Police have been scanning car number plates and cross referencing them against their own files to look for known drugs criminals, the Telegraaf says.

If a number plate links to someone with drugs convictions, the car will be stopped and inspected.

The court ruled the campaign unlawful, saying routine traffic controls are only to be used to make sure motoring laws are being kept, not to solve drugs related crime.

In January, the privacy watchdog CPB said several police forces are breaking privacy laws by keeping lists of car number plates using certain roads for longer than permitted.

Source

why cant we have these kind of judges in the uk

I can understand how this kind of law enforcement could go sideways. For example: I am driving home from grocery shopping and get pulled over because I was arrested for possessing a joint 10 years ago. Stupid as it may sound, this is a possibility.
However, I do think some form of this method should be used, more specifically, vehicles could be pulled over if the owner has a record of drug trafficking. The price one pays for getting caught. ':roll:'

Peace.

in certain parts of the UK police run these operations once a week in particular spots, very interesting to see dutch angle.

It always confuses me that the coffeeshops have a open front door/shady back door! Thats the one thing that I think needs clarification.

bigs wrote: It always confuses me that the coffeeshops have a open front door/shady back door! Thats the one thing that I think needs clarification.

If the back door was open, then cannabis would be legal. This is a method of keeping cannabis illegal, outlawing the production and bulk distribution, ie... the back door.

Peace.

Dirty Uncle Ron wrote:

bigs wrote: It always confuses me that the coffeeshops have a open front door/shady back door! Thats the one thing that I think needs clarification.

If the back door was open, then cannabis would be legal. This is a method of keeping cannabis illegal, outlawing the production and bulk distribution, ie... the back door.

Peace.

ok, but if it was fully legal then the dutch government could actually tax it, right?

but then i suppose coffeeshops would go out of business as illegal dealers could sell the product cheaper - i.e minus tax?

Confusing subject!

bigs wrote:ok, but if it was fully legal then the dutch government could actually tax it, right

They do anyway.

That's why it's so expensive. It's illegal AND taxed.

bigs wrote: ok, but if it was fully legal then the dutch government could actually tax it, right?
but then i suppose coffeeshops would go out of business as illegal dealers could sell the product cheaper - i.e minus tax?
Confusing subject!

Confusing indeed. I always thought of the Dutch as having a pragmatic attitude, especially towards personal choice. I suppose an argument could be made that because of treaties, global pressure, etc..., the Dutch (read: Parliament) would rather not be the first country to totally legalize cannabis.
FYI - The Dutch government does tax the sale of cannabis by coffeeshops, I think they always have.
I disagree that C/S's would go out of business if cannabis were to become legal. First off, more people would grow their own. When I grow, my average cost per gram is approximately E1.50, which is a hell of a lot less than what a gram costs in a C/S (E7-E14+), or anything illegal distributors could provide. Secondly, shops would still be a tourist attraction, and I for one would still go on occasion. Similar to having a pint - I can have one at home or I could go down to my local although I would pay a lot more.
When the first country fully legalizes cannabis (production, distribution, possession, etc...), especially if it were one of the G8, there would be a near-immediate domino effect. Every country would be trying to get their piece of the action. Could also mean the end to Cannabis Cartels and all the violence they bring. Wow, what an concept. ':roll:'
Maybe in our lifetime, but only when we lovers of cannabis become more united and represented.

Peace.

ok, but if it was fully legal then the dutch government could actually tax it, right?

but then i suppose coffeeshops would go out of business as illegal dealers could sell the product cheaper - i.e minus tax?

WRONG!

The costs to grow cannabis legally would be very low. (Even now one could, illegally, grow dope in a big greenhouse for about 20-50 dollars a kilo...just don't get caught.).

The economies of scale, if grown legally in factory style farms, would be incredible!

In coffeeshops, I think they already tax the coffeshop owners (and/or purcahses), so they do not need to tax the grower. However, even if they did so, the tax cost would be much lower than the savings derived from the economies of scale for the growers, hence prices would, if anything, decline!

Confusing subject!

Not really, you just have to think in terms of economics.

The reason gangs profit from drugs is precisely becasue they are illegal!

Today, American adults, in locales where booze is legal (.i.e not in "dry counties"), do NOT buy illicit/sketchy booze on the streets. However, during Prohibition, when booze was illegal, they certainly did. (Many died/went blind/etc becasue of the impurities) Rather, they walk into a liquor store, pay a few dollars and walk out with potable booze.

The government gets its cut on the sale of the booze and the price of booze is very reasonable in the US.

No worries, the same result would happen with legal cannabis.