cannabisnews.com: EU Nations Eye Netherlands Move To Sell Cannabis
EU Nations Eye Netherlands Move To Sell Cannabis
Posted by CN Staff on September 01, 2003 at 20:26:09 PT
By Ian Bickerton in Amsterdam
Source: Financial Times UK
The move by Netherlands this week to start selling cannabis as a prescription drug to seriously ill patients is being closely watched by other European countries. The UK, Belgium and Luxembourg were particularly interested to see how the Netherlands fares as the first country in the world to sell the drug on prescription, the Dutch health ministry said.
The Dutch move is the latest pioneering social reform in a country which was first to legalise euthanasia and where cannabis, although illegal, is widely available in licensed coffee shops.Two government-contracted suppliers yesterday began transporting the drug to several hundred pharmacies across the country, where it will be available to patients, in five gram pots or packets, by the end of the week.Its use will be permitted for the relief of symptoms related to the treatment of terminal cancer, Aids and HIV, and for patients with multiple sclerosis or Tourette's syndrome. The health ministry expects the drug to be initially available to between 4,000 and 7,000 patients, rising to 15,000 in a year.First used as a Chinese herbal remedy 5,000 years ago, the Dutch began studying the benefits of cannabis in 2000, and - with parliamentary approval - quickly took a first legal step to legitimising its medical use by establishing an Office of Medicinal Cannabis.Dutch medical experts monitored research and patient experience before approving the drug's use only as a last resort and for illnesses where scientific studies showed benefits.The move also reflected the fact that many chronically sick people were already known to be using cannabis for pain relief, either buying it in coffee shops or receiving it illegally from doctors and chemists, the health ministry said."It was ridiculous that people were using this drug while no doctor was permitted to prescribe it, despite the fact that scientific studies showed benefits," a Dutch health ministry official said.Health experts were also concerned to regulate the strength of the drug, which varies widely when supplied through illegal channels. "This is a safer method, because the quality is assured, and it will allow doctors to better monitor patient response," said the official.Dutch health experts recommend that the drug is taken only via an inhaler or mixed in tea.The move has raised few eyebrows in the Netherlands. Indeed what criticism there has been relates as much to price as to medical or legal worries. Cannabis will cost more in a chemist than in a coffee shop.That, said the ministry, reflected higher quality and 6 per cent VAT. Source: Financial Times (UK)Author: Ian Bickerton in Amsterdam Published: September 2, 2003Copyright: The Financial Times Limited 2003Website: http://www.ft.com/Contact: letters.editor ft.com Related Articles:Cannabis As a Prescription Drughttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17207.shtmlNetherlands Launches Pharmacy Sales of Cannabishttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17204.shtmlDutch Approve Cannabis as Prescription Drughttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17203.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on September 03, 2003 at 11:33:53 PT:
As Holland goes...
Anyone who has spent any time studying this matter from the international perspective learns very quickly of all the brickbats thrown at the Dutch these past few years by some EU members and the USA.The Dutch took all kinds of abuse for their bravery and honesty...and held their ground. The biggest suppliers of these lies and slanders were the French and the US. Now France has quietly given up it's s**t-throwing, leaving the US the only the only guilty party left.Because of the Dutch example - and the fact that they are amongst the US's lead trading partners (the Dutch company AHOLD owns a major grocery chain in my area, alone) the rest of the EU will no doubt follow suit. Holland has called the US DrugWarrior bluff, bigtime. And has suffered nothing but hot air for it's pains. The precedent has FINALLY been set: a Western nation has admitted the importance of RAW CANNABIS as having medicinal value. Not made into some pill or liquid or spray, not 'tweaked' with some wholly un-necessary molecular jimmying to make a 'new' medicine to fulfill patent regulations and fill Big Pharma coffers from artificially inflated costs; THE NATURAL PLANT HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGED AS A MEDICINE!Now the US is faced with few options: decrim of some sort or (sadly, more likely) greater domestic repression. And it may face eventual trade difficulties with a bloc whose member population rivals ours and cannot be militarily bullied or economically punished without more severe consequences for the would-be bullies. Massive trade imbalance, don't you know?I wish I could see Johnny Pee's face; it must be as red as a cooked lobster, right now.
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Comment #17 posted by Max Flowers on September 03, 2003 at 11:23:34 PT
Ship jumping? That would be nice, but...
...what I expect instead is simply a news blackout. In other words, for many many months to come, the US media will simply not talk about what is happening in Holland, therefore it "isn't happening" since they are not covering it. This will serve the drug warriors well (they are part of the same team of course), as they will not have to respond to people asking embarrassing questions about it ("hey, you guys say it's not medicine, but Holland dispenses it in pharmacies---what's up??!") since the media won't be telling the masses about it. Therefore the inevitable discussion can be delayed for months, if not years...I hope I'm wrong in this projection, but I think I'm learning how our "news" organizations operate.E_Johnson, thanks for speaking up about the tea question. However, as a hybrid concept it is possible to make a cannabis "tea" with bud if you're willing to put "creamer" (that is mostly hydrogenated oil, yuck!) or real cream (which is really fatty of course) in it. I have a friend who does this, and it works great for him.MF
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Comment #16 posted by Ben on September 02, 2003 at 23:25:29 PT
What about variety
I think most patients like diffrent flavors and highs that only rotating your supply of fine bud can give. Also
lowering your immunity to just one strain so for patients the Govt bud may help supplement thier supply but who wants the same bud all the time.
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Comment #15 posted by BigDawg on September 02, 2003 at 15:45:58 PT
Good point John Wayne
Your comment about prohibitionists renouncing their views and possibly avoiding trial really made me think.Not that I honestly believe that they will ever come to trial... but I expect alot of ship jumping very soon.
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Comment #14 posted by john wayne on September 02, 2003 at 14:25:49 PT
*applause*
I was in the Netherlands less than 2 years ago and the word then was that the Dutch didn't think medical cannabis was a big deal, since it was readily available to Dutch residents anyway. And now the rest of the EU may be taking their cue from the cannabis-prescribing Dutch? Drug warriors, NOW is the time to renounce your views and beat the rush. Who knows, you may even avoid trial.
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Comment #13 posted by goneposthole on September 02, 2003 at 05:37:40 PT
scientific studies showed benefits
"It was ridiculous that people were using this drug while no doctor was permitted to prescribe it, despite the fact that scientific studies showed benefits," a Dutch health ministry official said.'scientific studies showed benefits'Clarence Thomas and the US Supreme Court have gone on judicial record ruling that cannabis has no medicinal value. 'A Dutch health ministry official' has a differing opinion.Those who use cannabis for medicinal purposes all testify to the efficacious nature of cannabis. Can't that be reason enough for the medicinal use of cannabis? All reasons prohibiting medical cannabis seem to be financial. Looks like it anyway.
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Comment #12 posted by E_Johnson on September 01, 2003 at 23:22:11 PT
This is why capitalism rules
Cannabis users without the help of any organized authority have worked out the fact that you can't make tea from cannabis, but you can make butters, oils and tinctures.Highly trained and paid government authorities can't figure that out, for all of their training and education and support.And they don't even have to figure it out for themselves, because the cannabis community has done the job for them and posted everything on the Internet where they can get it if they want it.
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Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on September 01, 2003 at 23:15:02 PT
What my husband said
I read the letter to him and he joked that the worst possible advice they could give was not to make cannabis tea but to apply cannabis rectally.But I said no honey, that would probably work better than making it into a tea.
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Comment #10 posted by BGreen on September 01, 2003 at 22:42:38 PT
Cannabis is mixed with tobacco in most places
except here in the police states. I'd imagine that's why there's such a push away from having patients smoke their cannabis. The Netherlands is currently in a tobacco banning frenzy so they don't want to appear as hypocritical in recommending smoking, even if the substance isn't tobacco. This is all because the police states of america has WAY too much influence over the current Dutch government.As far as making tea out of cannabis, this is one group of patients that know more about their medicine than any other group, so I think they know what to do with their cannabis.The Rev. Bud Green
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on September 01, 2003 at 22:23:38 PT
Good Letter EJ
You explained the problem with tea very well.
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Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on September 01, 2003 at 22:10:25 PT
Did MLKII smoke weed?
According to the Harry Anslinger Theory of Marijuana and Race, a black man had to be on weed to do what MLKII did.He just looks so mellow under all that constant fear and stress. Makes me wonder.
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Comment #7 posted by E_Johnson on September 01, 2003 at 21:51:14 PT
Here's a letter
Dear editors,I applaud the efforts of Dutch pharmacists to put cannabis in their shops on a prescription basis. However, it is not possible to make a tea out of cannabis, as any pharmacist ought to know.The active ingredients in cannabis are lipophilic, not hydrophilic. Cannabinoids will dissolve in oil or alcohol, but not in water. Making tea from cannabis by soaking it in hot water will only result in ruined cannabis and funny-tasting hot water.Most cannabis users know this simple fact of cannabis chemistry. Why the highly paid and educated government health officials working for the Office of Medicinal Cannabis don't know this is something that begs for an explanation.Medical cannabis users who do not wish to smoke the herb consume it by dissolving it into butter or oil and cooking with it, or by making an old-fashioned tincture using alcohol.Dutch pharmacists should be offering cannabis tinctures and oils rather than telling people to make tea, which is the worst possible advice they could give to patients regarding this expensive herbal medicine.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 01, 2003 at 21:49:27 PT
rchandar
I think why they said they were first is because Cannabis is being sold to patients right out of Pharmacies. Canada might well be next! 13th step I'm still wowing!Thanks Richard!
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Comment #5 posted by rchandar on September 01, 2003 at 21:43:24 PT:
your article
hey E:no, it's the second country. canada approved this idea a few months prior. but it's a good sign, i feel; who knows, prohibition's days might even be numbered (well, the number is high, though.) --qahouaji
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Comment #4 posted by 13th step on September 01, 2003 at 21:42:15 PT
Wow is so right...
That's all I can say. I mean it's not like we didn't know it was coming, but it's still quite impressive.In the Netherlands and Canada. You can get pot legally if it helps you for some plethora of medical reasons.All this means is (physician) monitored usage of a (consistent) quality of cannabis.And then that means eventual legalisation *EVERYWHERE* because you can't fight the truth.But then, who needs all those white people listening to jazz music....or all those negroes looking at white women...(Snicker...)
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Comment #3 posted by Richard Lake on September 01, 2003 at 21:39:11 PT:
Tuesday 9/3/03 Matt Elrod & Philippe Lucas
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 6:30 PM CDT. That's 7:30 p.m. Eastern, or 4:30 p.m. out on the west coast. Live online at http://www.kpft.orgMatt Elrod and Philippe Lucas of DrugSenseWe'll kick the tires of the drug war with two veteran reform advocates. Matt is a long time computer guru of the Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org We'll discuss the impact of the internet on progress by the reform community, provide examples of ways we all can help to end prohibition. Matt's webpage is at http://www.drugsense.org/me/Philippe, (another guru,) will discuss the Vancouver Island Compassion Society http://www.thevics.com/, the Canadian marijuana laws and the heroin injection rooms in Vancouver. Philippe is Director of Media Relations for DrugSense and Editor of Hemp and Cannabis Issues for the DrugSense Weekly http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm He is also a Canadian newsmaker as the clippings here show http://www.mapinc.org/people/Philippe+LucasAnd we will pause to remember Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm ~ activist martyrs ~ and Rainbow Farm http://www.rainbowfarmcamp.com/On the Cultural Baggage Radio show 8/26/03, our guest was Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies, www.ips-dc.org, in Washington D.C. We discussed the "silent war" that ravages Central and South America and the now 88 year old war on drugs. Online at http://www.cultural-baggage.com/ramtorm/to082603.ramOur 4:20 Drug War News airs at 4:20 PM each day. (Mon - Sat, each a unique 3 minute segment.) Located at http://www.cultural-baggage.com/420.htmLast week on Cultural Baggage, the "Unvarnished Truth About the Drug War", our guests were Al Byrne and Mary Lynn Mathre of "Patirent out of Time" http://www.cultural-baggage.com/ramtorm/to0819.ram (MP3 files for the last month's shows are online as well.)The link to the main page, where all the half hour and hour shows are stored is http://www.cultural-baggage.com/kpft.htm All Drug War News shows also broadcast in Galveston, Texas at 89.5 FM and the half hour Cultural Baggage show airs six times per week on Sirius Satellite Radio Network, Channel 140. The show airs live over the internet at http://www.kpft.orgPrior guests have included Jeff Blackburn, Tulia Defense Atty.; Eric Sterling, Pres. Criminal Justice Policy Foundation; Steve Kubby, noted medical cannabis activist; Activist Ed Rosenthal, "Guru Of Ganja"; Judge James P. Gray, Author "Why our Drug Laws Have Failed"; Jacob Sullum, Author "Saying Yes in Defense of Drug Use"; Chris Red of Narconon; Roger Goodman of King County Bar Assoc.; Mike Gray, author of "Drug Crazy", Retired Police Officer Howard Wooldrige; Former DEA Agent Cele Castillo; Boris St. Maurice of Canadian Marijuana Party; Mark Stepnoski, Former Dallas Cowboy; Greg Gladden of the ACLU; Nora Calahan of November.org; Al Giordano, publisher of narconews.com; Alan Bean, Tulia Minister; Kevin Zeese of Common Sense for Drug Policy; David Duncan, professor at Brown University; Dr. Al Robison, Professor of Parmacology UT Health Science Center; Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolin; George McMahon, one of 7 surviving Federal marijuana patients; Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy; Chuck Thomas of Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform; Member of European Parliament Chris Davies and more...Thanks for any help you can give in disseminating this information. My objective is to find additonal radio stations to carry these shows. MP3 and WAV files are available for free, either on my website, via FTP or on CD. Contact dean cultural-baggage.com.Dean Becker, 281-752-9198
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 01, 2003 at 21:29:17 PT
It Does Sound Good
It's very big news and yet I'm just taking it in and kind of saying wow.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on September 01, 2003 at 21:12:17 PT
The FIRST country
Gosh I like reading that word.
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