Onerous medicine like cocaine and ecstasy should be regulated, based on the mayor of Amsterdam, who believes that that is the one solution to defeat drug trafficking and its “disastrous” impact in his metropolis.
In an interview with AFP, Femke Halsema mentioned that “you possibly can think about getting cocaine in pharmacies or by way of a medical system.”
Since 2018, the 57-year-old Halsema has been managing the town identified worldwide for its tolerance in direction of smooth medicine akin to hashish and for its lively enterprise and tourism sector.
However the “conflict on medicine” has not stopped the violent, multi-billionaire from hell who sucks 80 % of the time of the Amsterdam police, he informed AFP in a uncommon interview with a overseas media .
“I believe that some medicine are harmful, and I additionally assume that it’s clever to cut back using medicine. However I additionally observed that the best way we do this doesn’t assist … we have to consider higher methods to control medicine” .
She mentioned the road value of cocaine had been “precisely the identical … so we had no impact.”
“Isn't it ridiculous that we go away drug trafficking to criminals and don't attempt to discover a solution to have a civilized market?”
Alongside a regulated marketplace for cocaine, he mentioned he may additionally foresee a marketplace for medicine akin to ecstasy.
Halsema is aware of that his place is controversial and has been criticized, particularly by the mayor of the Belgian metropolis of Antwerp, a key gateway for medicine in Europe.
The mayor of Rotterdam, a metropolis additionally extensively used to convey the drug to the continent, focused customers with a marketing campaign saying that each “line” of cocaine helps prison gangs.
However Halsema, who studied criminology in school, mentioned she doesn't consider treating customers like criminals is the answer.
She pointed to the scenario in the USA the place the jail system is struggling to deal with the quantity of individuals convicted of drug offenses.
“Narco-state”
The drug debate within the Netherlands is “emotional and ethical”, he informed AFP. “Medication hurt well being. Medication are dangerous. It’s immoral to make use of them,” runs the argument.
“There may be not often a extra pragmatic or financial dialogue on the subject,” he mentioned.
Pissed off by the Dutch authorities's unwillingness to have interaction on the problem, Halsema opened the controversy internationally.
In January, he invited his mayors and consultants to a convention in Amsterdam to debate “how and never if” cities ought to regulate medicine.
The concept appeared to have gained traction, with the ultimate assertion of the convention signed, amongst others, by the mayor of Bern and the previous mayor of Bogotá.
“Anyone who thinks a bit bit about methods to essentially cut back the affect of drug traffickers involves this conclusion … there actually is not any different,” he mentioned.
He’s conscious that the creation of a “regulated, wholesome and managed” marketplace for onerous medicine will take a long time and is relying on the United Nations to make use of its affect on governments.
The complexity is compounded by the necessity to goal “the entire chain, from manufacturing onwards … if it solely offers with one half, it would appeal to criminals”.
And he hit again at critics who say the Dutch tolerance for smooth medicine is guilty for the explosion of cocaine trafficking within the nation.
“It has nothing to do with being smooth or repressive. It has solely to do with our geographical location and our industrial custom,” mentioned the mayor.
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https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240416-amsterdam-sindaco-vuole-regulà-a-cocaine-interview-afp
