But where is the logic behind it?
Taken from here
Hunted by police, small Dutch cannabis growers are endangered. Result: The quality of the grass down and coffee shops are forced to buy from the big dealers. We do not see or hear them anymore, but they still exist, those small farmers who pamper their young cannabis plants at home. They do it for their own consumption, to supply medicinal cannabis in their relatives or to sell to coffee shops. And they feel increasingly threatened. Since 2004 in fact, the Dutch police and justice drove them vigorously. "It is mainly they who are caught," said Nicole Maalsté, a sociologist at the University of Tilburg. "For police, it is easier to organize a raid on a popular neighborhood. But the main dealers usually remain out of reach. To stop them, he should investigate further." According to her, organized crime takes advantage of these stronger police action. "Gradually, as small farmers are driven from the market, the tough filling this vacuum. The coffee shops are being pushed toward individuals with whom they never wanted to work. " Small farmers and organic cannabis should be pampered A city official in 36 years (who wishes to remain anonymous) who lives in the neighborhood of Woensel-West in Eindhoven, and cultivating cannabis in his loft, does not consider itself as a criminal at all: "My friend and I grow our own consumption. What they sell in coffee shops is expensive and quality increasingly poor. They add chemicals or weigh down with powdered glass or metal. " In his attic, two cupboards each contain five feet of cannabis lit by strong lights. The official said he respects the rules of the policy of "tolerance" and his girlfriend each have five feet of cannabis [culture is banned but penalized only from six feet]. But when grown from seed, sow it must at least double because only female flower seeds. There is one and a half, he was visited by two police officers crimped by a neighbor. The police were understanding. Another farmer, Kees (40), resident of the town of Huizen, was less fortunate: "I do not réussi à faire comprendre au policier que pour avoir cinq plantes, il en faut dans un premier temps bien plus. Ils ont tout détruit." Kees cultive du "cannabis de qualité, 100% biologique". Ce qu'il ne consomme pas, il le vend aux coffee shops - entre 2 700 et 3 400 euros le kilo, selon la qualité et le coffee shop.
La sociologue Nicole Maalsté, mais aussi de nombreux maires, souhaitent que l’approvisionnement des coffee shops auprès de petits cultivateurs contrôlés soit dépénalisé [les coffee shops peuvent vendre jusqu’a 5 grammes de cannabis par client, mais n’ont pas le droit de s’approvisionner, pas même auprès des petits cultivateurs]. Elle wants the police to hunt especially serious criminals: "Small farmers, who are the foundation of the Dutch policy of tolerance, should be cherished. They grow good grass, usually free of additives. The quality is clearly superior that the major wholesale produce and what more and more invades the shelves. " Peter de Graaf
