Amsterdam's coffee shops and cafes are notorious for the tolerated exchange of hashish and marijuana. This example goes completely against the moral principles underlying the United States drug policy. The United States drug policy stands by the zero tolerance rules. Our drug culture does not believe in any such thing as a use of an illegal drug, only abuse. So, why aren't the Dutch facing as many drug related problems as we are? Is a more laissez-faire approach to drugs the answer?

We aren't winning the war on drugs. It is clear that the illegal drug use and drug related problems have increased in the United States. I think that the Amsterdam model may act a useful government response to hallucinogen and marijuana use in the United States. We have tried everything from stricter punishments to spending more dollars on drug

I am not saying that legalizing all drugs is the solution. I definitely don't believe that legalizing all drugs would work in our society. I don't think that our society is mature enough to handle the responsibilities that go along with some of the hard drugs. The Dutch policy has come to accept that people are going to use soft drugs. Why not regulate the exchange of these drugs? The Dutch policy refers to this regulation as a "house dealer" with a more controllable business instead of the dangerous "black market". The Public Prosecutions Office has drawn up a guideline for the operation of coffee shops: no sales of cannabis over 5 grammes; no sales of hard drugs or alcohol; no sales to minors; no advertising of the use of soft drugs and no nuisance. The Dutch drug policy bases their tolerance of certain drugs by the risks associated with them. Instead we group all of the illegal drugs together, suggesting that they are all dangerous and addictive. Wh

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Approximate Word count = 652
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)