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Cannabis Liberation Day 2016

CANNABIS BEVRIJDINGSDAG: June 12th – 2016

Sprekers: Rick Simpson, Noll Van Shaik, Has Cornelissen.

Muziek: Will and the People (UK) Armand Tribute, Van Piekeren, Dramali, Iris Penning, United Sounds, Rupelsoldaten (B), DJ Skunkstar, Covenant Soundsystem
The eighth edition of the “protestival” Cannabis Liberation Day again drew hundreds of 420 enthusiasts to Flevopark in Amsterdam.

The revelers protested against the 40 year old policy of the tolerance of marijuana in the Netherlands, and called for all-out legalisation. Recent plans by the city of Amsterdam to start local experiments with regulated weed, grown and distributed under the watchful eye of City Hall, were met with healthy skepticism on the festival grounds. Organizer Derrick Bergman: “We are against ‘municipality weed’. We are all for regulation, we need more control, more clean weed without pesticides. But not from the goverment”

In the tradition of the annual Cannabis Liberation Day, the festival included a hemp market , a number of speakers, musical performances and the annual Cannabis Film Festival.

The scent of quality cannabis hovered above the crowd as an abundance of weed and hashish went up in vapor and smoke.

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Mayor Of Rotterdam Speaks Out Against New Pot Policy

The mayor of Rotterdam has spoken out against the planned ‘wietpas’ policy, stating that the new system will lead to a rise in illegal drug dealing and make the streets less safe. Ahmed Aboutaleb says the wietpas is flawed and will create more problems than it solves. With this statement mayor Aboutaleb joins in skepticism with his counterparts in Amsterdam, Haarlem, Eindhoven, Breda, Maastricht and most other Dutch cities that allow coffeeshops within their borders; all of which have stated earlier that they do not see any merit in the planned new policy.

Mayor Aboutaleb told reporters that the wietpas would undo decades of investment and planning in developing communities; he encouraged the new government to scrap the planned policy. ‘It doesn’t work and it’s not going to work. It leads in practice to more problems in the community.’ Aboutaleb also pointed out that, “Very few people want to co-operate with the wietpas. They don’t want to register. I can understand why a lot of people are concerned, they wonder what their details will be used for. It’s logical.”

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Cannabis College Recreational Information

When consuming cannabis and enjoying our lovely city please keep these tips in mind to prevent possible negative experiences.

* THC, one of the active ingredients in cannabis, is a mood enhancer. Make sure you are having a good day that you wish to make more intense or refrain from using cannabis products. Drug use is a personal choice and should not be influenced by another person’s opinion.

* Use caution when combining cannabis and alcohol. Smoking a joint can make your drinks feel many times stronger!

* Allow 20 minutes to two hours for a space product to start working, and if the cake is larger try eating half and wait at least an hour before consuming more cannabis.

* All cannabis users: (but especially medical users) should make sure to consume only organically grown products (no chemical nutrients or pesticides).

* Smoking joints, eating space cake or using a vaporizer will lower the amount of sugar in your
blood. This can sometimes lead to nausea, ringing ears, and sweating. If this occurs just drink some sugar water or juice, or eat something sweet (avoid caffeine). Fresh air usually helps and so does a good meal, but panicking will not!

* Regular consumers of cannabis are encouraged to take frequent breaks from their habit. Remember, smoke less and enjoy it more!

* Unfortunately someone who has consumed too many “space” products will notice no relief from sugar water, as the metabolised cannabinoids are unaffected by sugar.

When visiting coffeeshops there are certain things you can keep in mind:

* Don’t feel obliged to consume the entire amount of cannabis purchased in that same coffeeshop, as you may carry up to five grams and enjoy it at the next shop you visit, or at home.

* Not all coffeeshops are the same. Trust your instincts and if you can’t get enough information from the menu, feel free to ask for a sample to see and smell, or go elsewhere.

* The toleration of cannabis is restricted to primarily coffeeshops, meaning that smoking in public or in bars is not always permitted.
The Cannabis College Foundation is a non-profit information centre based in the heart of Amsterdam. It provides visitors from across the globe with correct, objective, and honest information regarding every aspect of the Cannabis sativa L. plant. – cannabiscollege.com

courtesy of Cannabis College / Free Amsterdam © All rights reserved.

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Cannabis Liberation Day 2010

May 8 2010, 12-10pm, Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam
(see map: http://tinyurl.com/y8b6dt7)

Live Music, Speakers, Hemp Market and Cannabis Film Festival.
Cannabis Liberation Day is an initiative of the alliance of Dutch cannabis organizations (VOC)
and the Dutch cannabis consumers organization (VvCC).

“Prohibition Is No Solution!”

FREE ADMISSION

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City Of Haarlem Presents Own Alternative To Failing Weed Pass

The city of Haarlem is currently working on an alternative to the seemingly doomed ‘Weed Pass’, that is meant to take effect nation-wide on the 1st January.

The so-called “wiet pas”, a controversial new registration policy, was designed by the Dutch government to limit coffeeshop clientele and to ban foreign customers from buying cannabis, but the new policy backfired in the southern three provinces of the Netherlands after it was introduced earlier this year. The mayor of Maastricht, the city on the southern border, has recently had a change of heart on the issue as the new policies led to an dramatic increase of nuisance and street-level drug dealing in his city.

According to the mayor of Haarlem, Bernt Schneiders, the alternative that Haarlem is now working on together with the local coffeeshops and the city’s health service, will function as a hallmark, guaranteeing good entrepreneurship, quality of products and compliance with (yet to be defined) standards. Particular points of focus will be the prevention of complaints from neighbours and the down-scaling of the coffeeshops. Mayor Schneiders told a local newspaper that the new certificate will force coffeeshops towards what he called the “ideal situation”, where they would be small businesses, serving locals. Exactly how the new hallmark would achieve this function he did not explain.

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Business As Usual In The Cannabis Capital

Contrary to many rumors going around in international media, it is still as easy as ever for the non-Dutch to get high in Amsterdam! The ‘Weed Pass’ that everyone is talking about has come into effect, but only for three unfortunate provinces in the South (Limburg, Brabant, Zeeland), where locals now need a pass to purchase, and have a restricted ‘membership’ to a single coffeeshop. Foreign smokers are being turned away in an effort to stop the ‘Drug Tourism’ that is caused by the regulated sale of everyone’s favorite plant.

This pass is set to go into effect for the rest of Holland on January 1st 2013, but do not lose hope, smokers of the world! At any point until that time, the decision can be undone by the High Court, or the new Cabinet, which will be elected in September. Separate from any pressure from the Courts, this law is getting a lot of resistance from various major cities.

Their mayors worry that the new law will see a rise in an illegal black market cannabis industry (like everywhere else), the very reason tolerance policies were brought in 30 years ago.

Amsterdam has 223 coffee shops that are visited by about 1 million tourists annually. Tourism officials worry that the new law could have a devastating effect on the city. “The Dutch government has decided upon this for the whole of the Netherlands. Amsterdam doesn’t want it,” said Machteld Ligtvoet, spokeswoman for the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board.

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Barney’s Breakfast Bar Re-opens

After some months of reconstruction/ foundation work, the shop has been completely restyled. The coffeeshop, open 7.00AM in the morning is known for it’s breakfast, nice decoration and smoke. So for those loving that old design.. It’s out! We know… time flies people.

As like his colleagues Green House and Dampkring, also Derry from Barney’s decided to dump the spacy look of his shop and turned it into a somewhat more upscale coffeeshop with simple design and plenty of light.

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Coffeeshops Legal or Permitted?

Amsterdam is known to be a liberal city. Although many people exaggerate the freedom here, the Amsterdammers and Dutch in general do have a few liberties that are unique in the world. Still, whenever you visit a city in a foreign country it is always a good idea to inform yourself about the local laws and rules. In Amsterdam’s case this can be a difficult task, therefore this article will try to inform you about the basics of the Dutch legislation and specific things you should know about Amsterdam and its Coffeeshops.

In the Netherlands we distinguish between two types of drugs: soft and hard drugs. By law both of them are illegal, but the use and possession of small amounts of soft drugs is decriminalized and regulated. This led the Dutch to having a unique drugs policy in the world. Although the use of addictives in general is discouraged, the Dutch politics reasoned that cannabis does not have physically addictive qualities, and are not more harmful than, say, alcohol. Therefore the Netherlands allow limited forms of possession and trade in soft-drugs.

The specific rules are as follows:
• You are allowed to purchase and possess up to five grams of cannabis. Possessing more is interpreted as if you want to trade it, which is illegal.
• Only specially permitted “Coffeeshops” are allowed to sell soft drugs, and never more than five grams per person per day. You have to be 18 or over to access a Coffeeshop.

The paradox in the Dutch drugs policy is that the growing and trading of large amounts of soft drugs is illegal and not allowed, yet Coffeeshops still need to buy their stock. This phenomenon is referred to as the “back door/ front door” paradox: Coffeeshops are allowed to sell (and pay taxes for it), but can not legally buy stock.

It is not illegal to smoke outside the Coffeeshop, but things have changed over the past few years, and it is no longer acceptable to smoke cannabis just everywhere.

Restricted areas around Central Station and the Red Light District have a “zero tolerance” policy. In other areas in Amsterdam where it is forbidden to smoke Marijuana, official “no-pot-smoking” street signs will indicate this clearly.

Although you are not expected to know local regulations, you might very well risk a fine when smoking in these areas.

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