The Netherlands is world-renowned for its liberal stance towards drugs, and if Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, had her way, it would be even more liberal.
According to Halsema, the sale and use of cocaine and other hard drugs should be decriminalised.
And listen, she’s got some good points to make.
Why should cocaine be decriminalised?
Speaking with Het Financieele Dagblad, Halsema explains that this approach is all about preventing damage caused by the Netherlands’ war on drugs.
By decriminalising the very thing that drives criminal activity, Halsema hopes to overthrow criminals’ revenue model — and stop wasting police time on a war that is achieving “damn little.”
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“About 80 percent of our police capacity is spent on drug-related crime,” she tells Het Financieele Dagblad.
“I am part of a growing group of scientists and administrators who say that the international war on drugs has such perverse effects that we are now suffering more from it than from the drugs themselves.”
Her solution? Decriminalise them and regulate these drugs instead.
After all, what’s a drug criminal going to do without, well, illegal drugs?
Do you agree with Halsema? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
