Project for distributing medical marihuana failed.
By our parliamentary redaction.
The Hague, Friday, March 18. - Health Minister Hoogervorst will most likely stop the distribution of softdrugs for medical use.
Yesterday, during a debate in the Second Chamber, he stated that doctors hardly prescribe mediweed because of their lack of confidence in the drug. The cannabis is supposed to relieve the pain of patients suffering from cancer, for instance.
On top of that, the medical grade cannabis that is being produced under the supervision of the department has nasty side effects, like psychosis.
An other reason to stop the project is the competition by coffeeshops, which offer cannabis cheaper. Hoogervorst will take a definite decision on the topic after the summer.
“But it does not look positive.”
The VVD Minister swept the floor with Mayor Leers’ (Maastricht) plan to legalise production and distribution of softdrugs. Legalisation, according to the Minister, would lead to an increased price for safe weed, thus creating a huge market for low quality softdrugs. Leers, the CDA Mayor however, feels the standard of life in the Limburg region is under severe stress because of the trading in softdrugs.
Translation: Nol van Schaik.
Source: De Telegraaf.
Pub Date: March 18, 2005.
Comment:
What a loser, this Minister Hoogervorst!
He claims the ‘safe’ government weed causes psychosis, doctors do not believe in its healing effects and mentions coffeeshops as “competition”!
Listen, Minister Hoogervorst, if you would hire people to produce good quality bud, and offer it to sick people on welfare with full refund, like any other acknowledged medicine,
You would have thousands of happy patients!!
Instead, you made sure the government licensed growers had to invest huge sums of money to be able to grow low grade weed in laboratory style growrooms.
These investments have a big influence on the consumers price in the pharmacy, which is 8 -9 euros a gram over the legal counter. Coffeeshops sell marihuana for lower prices than that, and most coffeeshops give ‘their patients’ a 25 – 50 % discount, knowing these sick people don’t get refund for their appreciated medicine.
Coffeeshops are no competition as such, they merely want to supply poor, sick people with quality mediweed for a fair price, not for government regulated profit margins!!
Just do as I suggest, and you will no longer have any ‘competition’ from the coffeeshops!
Coffeeshops are just doing what the government should be doing, taking care of the sick and needy. Shame on you, Minister, just give the sick good bud and a full refund, so I can send my 130 patients to the nearest pharmacy.
This is a good example of Dutch politics, quitting without trying an alternative.
Nol van Schaik.
Co-Founder of Actiongroup Cannabis for Medicine. (ACM)
Mediweed distributor since 1996.
