FWIW, after a few glasses of wine, here's my thoughts on the weed pass:
I think that whether or not marijuana should be legalised is actually an extremely complex issue and people who openly advocate its legalisation often make a total mess of it by over simplifying the issue, and by marketing marijuana as a wonder drug.
There have been scientific studies showing marijuana's benifits - pain relief, anti-anxiety etc - and there have been studies showing its negative effects - links to psychosis, lack of brain development, memory impairment etc. So in terms of its overall "good" to man kind, science isn't being very helpful here. The problem is that the human body / brain is such a hugely complex thing that its extraordinarily difficult to reach any kind of definitive conclusion as to how
any drug effects it.
FWIW, I've always had a love / hate relationship with the drug. Yes, it gets me high, makes music sound great, makes me creative. But... it can make me paranoid, apathetic and lazy. It can be both good and bad and is neither one nor the other.
In response to a few points in this thread:
1) Weed just makes people chill out. People become aggressive when they drink, they don't when they smoke weed, etc, etc..
Kind of true. But a large percentage of people drink alcohol when they smoke weed while in the Dam. And being drunk and stoned can get VERY messy VERY quickly, as we all know who have done it
. So I'm not sure how much this argument holds weight really.
2) "I have said it many times, but parts of this country are extremely conservative. There is a bible belt, a political party that believes the bible literally (they won't allow women in the party) with actual political power. A large part of the country does not like the Dutch image as a haven for drugs and hookers." (Marco)
This to me is the crux of the issue, and resonates with me strongly as I live in Ireland, where a similar level of conservatism exists. The problem is that conservatives have a very strong political voice because they actually contact their politicians / media due to their outrage about pretty much everything. The typical stoner won't kick up a fuss if weed is to be banned in holland because he'll be afraid of the backlash from his employer, parents, colleagues etc. The conservatives win because they actually follow their convictions. The stoner loses because he doesn't due to fear. This is the sad truth of the matter.
3) The weed pass won't come into effect because of the potential loss of revenue due to tourism.
It would be great if this were true, but see point (2). The conservative voice is STRONG, so strong that the potential loss of millions simply won't stop this from happening. Holland existed before weed was legalised and it will still exist when it was banned. The 30(?) years of its cannabis legalisation is a tiny blip in the time the country has been around.
For me, legalisation should come down to one simple philosophy:
1) As a human being, one should have the ability to do what one wishes as long as one's actions do not harm another human being. One should have CHOICE.
2) If the drug isn't regulated by the government, it will be sold by criminals, leading to loss of revenue for the governement and an increase in crime.
These two points should be enough to justify the legalisation of marijuana anywhere, but sadly, in most countries in the world, they aren't. Which sucks. The Weed Pass will happen because conservatism will have won yet again.
