cannabisnews.com: First Dutch Cannabis Cafe Marks 30th Anniversary First Dutch Cannabis Cafe Marks 30th Anniversary Posted by CN Staff on November 29, 2002 at 07:50:18 PT By Paul Gallagher Source: Reuters It's 1972. Step inside the abandoned Amsterdam bakery where pot-smoking squatters are playing table soccer. Meet Wernard and his hippie friends, pioneers of the first Dutch cannabis cafe.The 30th anniversary of the opening of the "Mellow Yellow" cafe is being commemorated in the Netherlands on Friday when cannabis smokers pay tribute to a taboo-busting enterprise which spearheaded the spread of the renowned Dutch "Coffee Shop". The cafe thrived for six years before it closed down. But by 1978 other coffee shops were opening in a city which was a mecca for anarchists, hippies, squatters and drop-outs. Toleration of cannabis grew and coffee shops blossomed.Three decades after "Mellow Yellow" opened on the banks of the Amstel river, Amsterdam remains the one city in the world where people can wander into a special cafe and buy a small amount of cannabis without fearing arrest or prosecution.Dutch cannabis entrepreneurs and connoisseurs are throwing a party in a sports hall in the sedate town of Haarlem, near Amsterdam, on Friday in tribute to the founder of "Mellow Yellow", Wernard Bruining."It's going to be a nice reunion for pioneers and old cannabis souls," party organiser and coffee shop owner Nol van Schaik told Reuters.Today there are about 800 coffee shops in the Netherlands and in Amsterdam there is a booming trade in the sale of marijuana and hashish to tourists visiting a city renowned for its museums and red light district.PERMISSIVE ATTITUDE The Dutch decision to turn a blind eye to the sale of small amounts of cannabis by licensed coffee shops evolved in the 1970s and developed over the following decades, cementing the country's reputation for liberalism and tolerance."Soft drugs will never go away. I think in the next 20 to 30 years the rest of Europe will become a lot like Holland," said 52-year-old Bruining."The basis of tolerance is that you avoid annoying other people. You are basically free in Holland to do what you want to do but don't annoy other people," said Bruining, who now works as a tour guide.The "Mellow Yellow", which started as a haunt for long-haired friends sharing a joint, ran the gauntlet of police raids as eager pot smokers queued around the block to get inside. But the tide did not take long to turn.In 1976 the Dutch government introduced legislation distinguishing between hard drugs and soft drugs including cannabis. Possession of up to 30 grams was decriminalised in 1978.Dutch drugs policy continued evolving over the next 25 years with a strong focus on fighting heroin addiction in the 1980s.In 1987, Amsterdam started providing clean syringes to combat the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug users with the number of drug related deaths falling sharply.While cannabis technically remains illegal in the Netherlands, its use and sale is now tolerated under strict conditions imposed by the government. The emphasis is on keeping users of soft and hard drugs apart."Cannabis is not risk-free, but it is certainly not more harmful than alcohol or tobacco," the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction said.International opinion on the health dangers of cannabis and the Dutch policy of toleration remain divided. British doctors said this month that smoking cannabis increases the odds of suffering depression and schizophrenia.But cannabis also has a long history of medicinal use. The Netherlands last year became the second country after Canada to allow the medical use of marijuana.Source: Reuters HealthAuthor: Paul GallagherPublished: November 29, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Reuters News ServiceWebsite: http://www.reuters.comContact: http://about.reuters.com/custhelp/Related Articles & Web Site:Willie Wortel http://www.williewortel.org/Amsterdam's Smokin' Coffee Shops http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8031.shtmlThe Real Sin City of Amsterdam http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7113.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by afterburner on November 29, 2002 at 22:01:58 PT: Hail the Netherlands and Canada. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. The Dutch understand it when I say that. They separate hard drugs from soft. Happy anniversary, cannabis by licensed coffee shops. And go Canada, you lead the world across the medicine line.btw Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah comes early this year. 2002-11-27 01:12:31 [Entertainment] Hanukkah, a movable festival based on the lunar-solar calendar, falls early this year.Let's kindle light of compassion http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=1014656316146&c=Article&cid=1038351740418 [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by BGreen on November 29, 2002 at 18:25:06 PT I was in Haarlem two weeks ago I fell in love with that beautiful little city. I also went to Zandvoort and saw the North Sea. I ate some seafood at a little stand at the beach.I'd recommend this excursion for anybody going to Amsterdam. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Truth on November 29, 2002 at 09:27:27 PT gurgle gurglegurglegurglecough.. cough.. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment