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Cannabis trade gets Dutch economy high
In a bright yellow room dotted with multicolored suns, Barney's Breakfast Bar serves eggs, pancakes, and the house special -- Sweet Tooth, the best marijuana on sale in Amsterdam. At least that's what the judges at the Cannabis Cup decided last year. Now, Barney's and its coffee-shop rivals are gearing up for this year's edition of the contest. Beginning Nov. 24, close to 3,000 marijuana fans will spend five days in Amsterdam rating the very best in cannabis. That means a boom in business for the shop owners and for the Dutch economy. "There's great demand for the winning product," said Derry Brett, a former engineer and the owner of Barney's. His shop has no corners; the fluid shapes create the feeling of floating when high, Brett said. "Cannabis is a huge business for Amsterdam," Winning the cup can increase a shop's sales by as much as 50 percent, the event's organizer said. The 1976 decriminalization of smoking marijuana contributed to the Dutch economy. Drugs were a 1.4 billion euro (US$1.36 billion) business worth 0.5 percent of gross domestic product in 1995, the last time the government collected such figures. "It is a huge industry and growing," said Peter Cohen, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam. "Cannabis creates jobs and income for people who may not otherwise have jobs, who then pay taxes to the government." The government also collects taxes on income from marijuana -- as much as 52 percent depending on a shop's take. "The Dutch government is doing so well with drug tourism," said Mike Esterson, the Cannabis Cup's promoter and organizer. "It's a cash cow for everyone involved."

*****The Taipei Times?? I wonder how come CNN or the New York Times didn't cover this??? ABC could send Brian Ross to determine how much weed is being smuggled in under the noses of the US Custom Service everyday.****

posted by A Curmudgeon 10:19 AM