From: [m--p] at [simplex.nl] (Mario Lap)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: DEA or How to misbehave in the legalization debate
Date: 13 Jan 1995 02:45:17 GMT
Mime-Version: 1.0

  
  Monday 9 Jan 1995, The Hague
  
  Her Majesty's Minister of Foreign Affairs of The
  Netherlands drs. Hans van Mierlo has officially
  annouced the following answer in writing to parlia
  mentary questions by the MP Thom De Graaf of the
  (his own) liberal party.
  
  The Minister will point out to the American Authorities that Dutch Drugpo
  licy is falsely represented in a manual of the American Drug Battle Agency,
  DEA. 
  
  The manual mentions that the police in The Netherlands is instructed not to
  take action against street trade in what ever kind of drugs.That is not true. 
  
  In many municipalities in The Netherlands the policing and prosecution of
  street traders of drugs has a high priority and special cell space is reserved
  for that purpose.
  
  Furthermore according to the DEA a research of the entire Rotterdam popu
  lation of fifteen years and older showes that 3.3 % of this population uses
  cocaine. 
  
  In the research referred to by the DEA 3.3 % of the Rotterdam population
  from fifteen to nineteen years of age mentioned that they had used cocaine
  (prevalence). 
  
  It is totally irresponsible to state that all of these people are cocaine users and
  rediculous to relate the figures to the total Rotterdam population.
  
  Further data in the manual are not all wrong but stripped of their context and
  therefore easily misinterpreted.

  
  The mistakes made will be discussed with the American Authorities by The
  Minister of Foreign Affairs.
  
  translated by
  mario lap. 
International Foundation for Drug Policy and Human Rights.