Cannabis Law Leaves Smokers Dazed and Confused

[JohnnyPotSmoker]

Cannabis smokers are feeling dazed and confused after a Dutch smoking law effectively banned tobacco from being used in joints.

Millions of people flock to Amsterdam's "coffee shops" every year to legally buy cannabis and hashish over the counter and to smoke it without fear of arrest, as long as they are on the premises.

But the new law bans tobacco inside cafés and restaurants, meaning cannabis users are now forced to light up potent and heady pipes and joints loaded with pure marijuana.

Sophie, a 20-year-old student from Manchester, did not enjoy the experience of smoking neat "skunk", a powerful cannabis hybrid blamed for higher rates of mental illness among some drug users.

"This stuff is much stronger than we are used to back at home. We were off our heads too quickly and I have been very sick," she said.

Olli, a young Swedish tourist, described how the tobacco ban was driving smokers onto the streets and spoiling the coffee shop experience.

"It has always been about being with other people inside the café. It is not the same standing outside in the street," he said. "If it is pure it is more expensive and it gives you a cough."

Many coffee shop owners and staff fear that the new restrictions will hit a trade estimated to have a turnover of £1.6 million every year.

The mood in De Tweede Kamer, a famous "quality" coffee shop just off Amsterdam's leafy Spui Square, was angry.

Frank, the bar manager, argued that the new restrictions would drive many cannabis smokers onto the streets and outside the law.

"A lot of people can not cope with smoking pure and cough their lungs out," he said.

"But it is illegal to smoke cannabis outside in the streets. They are creating a social vacuum. It could be a smart way of making it illegal."'

Peter, a middle aged Dutchman, blamed Christian politicians, making up the coalition government, for a backdoor attempt to close down coffee shops.

"It is a Christian Taliban. They want to impose a Christian ideology on the Netherlands. These are people who still think women are second class citizens."

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority has trained 200 inspectors to detect the difference between a "mixed or a pure joint".

Mark Jacobsen, chairman of the BCD, a nationwide association of coffee shop owners, said: "It's absurd. In other countries they look to see whether you have marijuana in your cigarette, here they'll look to see if you've got cigarette in your marijuana."

News Hawk: JohnnyPotSmoker: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: The Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008
Contact: Contacts - Telegraph
Website: Cannabis Law Leaves Smokers Dazed and Confused

[soniq420]

Originally Posted by JohnnyPotSmoker

Sophie, a 20-year-old student from Manchester, did not enjoy the experience of smoking neat "skunk", a powerful cannabis hybrid blamed for higher rates of mental illness among some drug users.

[/url]

It's so frustrating to read the bias in these mainstream news stories; as in the example above. A neutral journalist would have ended the sentence without the "blamed for mental illness" slur.

This quasi-subliminal effort to keep the "pot is bad" vibe in the group think is the problem.

They might as well have said; a powerful hybrid suspected to be a cause of global warming, retardation, and the motivation to instigate genecide.

/rant over/

[merickson]

Slur or Consumer Safety Information (?)

[Cherma42050]

I know it may be a cultural thing about mixing cannabis with tobacco and also hash with tobacco, but why would anyone want to spoil or mix the effects of pure hash or great bud? Smoking cannabis for over 38 years, there was once an exprimentation of mixing tobacco and hash together, Puking for over an hour straight and feeling like the hash was wasted, It was vowed to never let this happen again. NEVER HAS: knowing many people enjoy this mixture, a purist at heart for the real thing is the way to go. no mixing here, except for making a salad of mixed cannabis varieites......

[User]

^ i agree about mixing tobacco but.....
a pretty little piece of hash on top of a nice bowl always sounds appealing to me.
different strokes for different folks

[JohnnyPotSmoker]

I'm not a fan of tobacco in joints either. I've smoked joints with tobacco in them, but I've never mixed any in with the herb in joints I've rolled myself. I mostly stick with smoking out of bongs and bubblers. I might roll a joint or two every week, but that's about it.

Another way people around here smoke tobacco with their herb is "shotties" or "poppers". You put a skinny slider into a bong, and instead of putting the bowl into the slider, you take some tobacco, and stick it tightly into the slider and pack about 0.2 g of herb on top. Then you just light it and keep pulling until the herb (and usually a bit of tobacco) has been burned and the remaining tobacco is snapped down into the bong water, and then you clear it. There are lots of people around here who love doing this, but I've done it once or twice at friends' houses and can't stand it. Has anyone else every heard of people doing this?

But like User said, different strokes for different folks.