Windmills in their minds? Drug policy and drug research in the Netherlands

Contemporary Dutch drug policy is a product of many long-term political, de mographic and social changes that have taken place in the Netherlands since the nation's first drug law was enacted in 1919. Shifts in policy emphasis are described and. explained in terms of three principles that serve as th e cornerstones of the Dutch approach. These include the following: (?) a se paration of the markets for hard and soft drugs, (2) normalization of the p henomenon, which means treating drug users as ordinary citizens entitled to government assistance, but also required to assume responsibility for thei r actions; and (3) harm reduction efforts directed at minimizing the damage done by drugs to users, communities and to the society as a whole. The cha nging policies regarding cannabis are utilized here as a case study to illu strate how these principles work in practice. Several contemporary issues a re analyzed in terms of their influence on recent policy changes. These inc lude drug-related nuisance, the participation of organized crime in drug ma rkets and criticism from abroad regarding the impact of Dutch policies on o ther nations. The article concludes with a reconsideration of the effects o f decriminalizing cannabis, contrasting the Dutch application of the expedi ency principle with ifs use in other nations.