Dutch weak on cocaine

Drug smugglers arrested with less than 3 kilos of cocaine at Amsterdam airport will not be prosecuted under plans by the Dutch government.

About 150 cocaine smugglers at arrested at the airport every month.

There are a rising number of arrests at the airport due to an influx of drug smugglers and the goals and courts cannot cope.

Previously the government stopped prosecuting drug smugglers with one and a half kilos of cocaine and now they have doubled the limit.

(Source: Geraldine Coughlan BBC correspondent in the Hague)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

The Dutch have strongly embraced harm minimisation in drug policies and the drug problems have got worse.

The government clearly cannot cope with the drug smugglers so they ease the prosecution laws to stop their gaols and courts being flooded.

Australia has adopted harm minimisation in our drug policy adopting Dutch drug policies like injecting rooms, syringe distribution and allowing illicit drug possession.

Australian governments must provide detoxification and rehabilitation to illicit drug users to get them drug free.

International criminals and terrorists control the illicit drug trade so harm minimisation benefits these by providing a market for drugs.