THE HAGUE - Both criticized for its alleged immoral policies and lauded for its liberal stance, the Netherlands' approach to cannabis often causes controversy and misunderstanding. Here are some facts about the Dutch policy towards drugs.

Basic principles:
The Netherlands makes a distinction between the soft drug, cannabis, which it says poses limited health risks and hard drugs, like cocaine and heroin which it says pose "unacceptable risks".
The tolerant stance towards cannabis was born out of typical Dutch pragmatism. The idea is that prosecuting cannabis smokers will put a huge strain on resources without affecting illegal production and trade.

Decriminalization of cannabis consumption and sale:
Officially the possession and sale of cannabis is still illegal in the Netherlands but it is tolerated under certain strict conditions. The so-called coffee-shops, cannabis cafes, are the only venues authorized to sell no more than five grams a day to people 18 years and older. People can have up to 30 grams of cannabis in their possession for personal use without being prosecuted.

Cannabis Production:
Cannabis production is illegal and offenders are prosecuted. Small scale cultivation of no more than five marijuana plants for personal use is decriminalized.

The policy's goal:
The main goal of the Dutch soft drugs policy is to prevent cannabis users coming into contact with criminals who offer cannabis and other hard drugs.

Effects of the policy on consumption:
"The existence of coffee-shops has not led to a rise in cannabis consumption," the Dutch ministry of Justice says, citing scientific research.
Cannabis consumption among people aged 15 to 65 is lower in the Netherlands than in France, Britain and the United States but higher than in Sweden. Six percent of Dutch have recently consumed cannabis against eight percent of the French, 10 percent of Americans, 11 percent of British and one percent of Swedish, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

Illegal cannabis sales:
In 2001, 47 percent of consumed cannabis was bought in coffee-shops. The rest came from illegal sales.

Hard drug use:
According to the Dutch drug monitor, hard drugs "are practically never bought in coffee-shops". In the Netherlands 1.1 percent of the population has recently used cocaine against 2.6 percent in Spain but only 0.3 percent in France. The use of heroin and other opiates is the lowest in Europe.

04/20/2005 16:38 GMT