4 ms·

I haven't been to Amsterdam yet, so my description of the "Dutch system" is based on what I heard from friends who live there, not from my own personal experien

by Rod 18y ago

I haven't been to Amsterdam yet, so my description of the "Dutch system" is based on what I heard from friends who live there, not from my own personal experience. It sounds like a good system, though. If what I have heard is accurate, then the quota is on daily consumption. I can't help thinking of algorithms that would update one's maximum allowable purchase of pot based on the exact dates and hours one last purchased. If the system allows one to buy enough each day to get "high enough" without getting "too high", no one would have an incentive to buy pot in the black market at higher prices. The one thing I keep wondering is: what happens if I buy pot at 23:50 and go to another shop to buy pot 10 minutes later? Since, technically, it's a new day, will I be allowed to buy as much as the daily quota allows again? It's intriguing.

ojbyrne 18y ago
Unless this is a new development, this "daily quota" doesn't exist. There's no ids, no central database, no daily quotas. There wouldn't be "drug tourists" all over the Netherlands if there were such a thing. And there's no mention of it on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands
- menloparkbum 18y ago
  The description of the "dutch system" is totally imaginary. Downvoted for making things up and presenting them as fact.
  - Rod 18y ago
    1) I made it clear that I could not guarantee its accuracy. I made it clear that it was not a "fact" but something I heard. 2) the fact that the system does not exist (at least in the Netherlands) does not make it not worth considering. Unless you have something intelligent to say about WHY the database would be a bad idea, your input hasn't been helpful either.
    - menloparkbum 18y ago
      Sorry, was in a bad mood when I wrote that. Gave you an upmod on this one to make up for it. Been to Amsterdam and there's no database. To address 2) there's a lot of problems, it would be expensive to implement, there's a lot of security issues involved, it seems unnecessary - alcohol and cigarettes cause many more problems; they should get this treatment before weed does. On the other hand, I feel like the system you proposed may already exist in rural small town pharmacies for antihistamines which can be used to produce crystal meth.
      - Rod 18y ago
        I don't know where I got the impression that they had a database system in Amsterdam. Talked to some good friends living there years ago, and they might have mentioned that there was a proposal to implement such a system... or that it could be interesting to implement it. I should have been more careful when presenting "facts" whose accuracy I can't guarantee. I agree that the database would be expensive to implement. On the other hand, taxing marijuana and all the money that could be saved from not fighting marijuana dealing anymore could perhaps finance the database system. I am not a security professional, so I don't know how to implement a system that could authenticate users without identifying them, but that seems to present lots of interesting technical problems. I agree that if there's no alcohol database, then there should be no database for weed either. On the other hand, alcohol is tolerated by society much more than weed. This makes no sense, but it's a reality. I would say that being pragmatic would be a good idea: introducing a database would tame the "fears" of those who claim that legalization would "corrupt" the teeanagers and our society's "values". Sometimes it's better to take little steps. Legalize but control consumption using a database. A few years later, people will have gotten used to the new paradigm that there might be no objections to abolishing the database. I say, legalize one step at a time because it increases the chances of success.
        ojbyrne 18y ago
        Having a database and quotas will encourage illegality only a little bit less than it being illegal. Some people will sell their quote to others with larger intake, some will be encouraged to buy dope illegally just to avoid being in the database (how long would it be before the government used that db for employment screening, followed by the obvious next step - selling the db to private companies for the same reason?). As a total aside, this came up in an episode of Weeds - our hero Nancy Botwin managed to discourage her clients from purchasing medicinal marijuana just by suggesting that there was such a central db.

by Rod 18y ago

ojbyrne 18y ago

Unless this is a new development, this "daily quota" doesn't exist. There's no ids, no central database, no daily quotas. There wouldn't be "drug tourists" all over the Netherlands if there were such a thing. And there's no mention of it on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands

menloparkbum 18y ago
The description of the "dutch system" is totally imaginary. Downvoted for making things up and presenting them as fact.
- Rod 18y ago
  1) I made it clear that I could not guarantee its accuracy. I made it clear that it was not a "fact" but something I heard. 2) the fact that the system does not exist (at least in the Netherlands) does not make it not worth considering. Unless you have something intelligent to say about WHY the database would be a bad idea, your input hasn't been helpful either.
  - menloparkbum 18y ago
    Sorry, was in a bad mood when I wrote that. Gave you an upmod on this one to make up for it. Been to Amsterdam and there's no database. To address 2) there's a lot of problems, it would be expensive to implement, there's a lot of security issues involved, it seems unnecessary - alcohol and cigarettes cause many more problems; they should get this treatment before weed does. On the other hand, I feel like the system you proposed may already exist in rural small town pharmacies for antihistamines which can be used to produce crystal meth.
    - Rod 18y ago
      I don't know where I got the impression that they had a database system in Amsterdam. Talked to some good friends living there years ago, and they might have mentioned that there was a proposal to implement such a system... or that it could be interesting to implement it. I should have been more careful when presenting "facts" whose accuracy I can't guarantee. I agree that the database would be expensive to implement. On the other hand, taxing marijuana and all the money that could be saved from not fighting marijuana dealing anymore could perhaps finance the database system. I am not a security professional, so I don't know how to implement a system that could authenticate users without identifying them, but that seems to present lots of interesting technical problems. I agree that if there's no alcohol database, then there should be no database for weed either. On the other hand, alcohol is tolerated by society much more than weed. This makes no sense, but it's a reality. I would say that being pragmatic would be a good idea: introducing a database would tame the "fears" of those who claim that legalization would "corrupt" the teeanagers and our society's "values". Sometimes it's better to take little steps. Legalize but control consumption using a database. A few years later, people will have gotten used to the new paradigm that there might be no objections to abolishing the database. I say, legalize one step at a time because it increases the chances of success.
      - ojbyrne 18y ago
        Having a database and quotas will encourage illegality only a little bit less than it being illegal. Some people will sell their quote to others with larger intake, some will be encouraged to buy dope illegally just to avoid being in the database (how long would it be before the government used that db for employment screening, followed by the obvious next step - selling the db to private companies for the same reason?). As a total aside, this came up in an episode of Weeds - our hero Nancy Botwin managed to discourage her clients from purchasing medicinal marijuana just by suggesting that there was such a central db.