Since I recently blogged about libertarianism, the Netherlands is in some respects (however, mind you: NL is far from being a pure ‘laissez faire’ country in general) a champion in succesfully implementing libertarian policies. And they also seem to know what they are doing- their approach is very effective- as, for instance, this well organized Drug Policy Alliance website concisely explains. In fact, Becker or Posner are not the only ones who do not find economic (or hardly any, for that matter) arguments for waging the total war on drugs anywhere outside the Netherlands (with the focus on the USA).
For more informal, but still informed opinions, here’s a post explaining the difference between Dutch coffeeshops and Dutch coffeehouses (with a linked Youtube amateur videoclip which probably wants to be a user’s manual but fails and a bunch of other things…). Or- iff you read Romanian- you can also consult a surprinsingly well written article on the topic by Cosmin Popan, for Cotidianul, that I blogged about, among other things, some time ago.
PS. If you are already in or plan to visit A’dam soon, you can check out this local coffeeshop directory. That being said, for a first visit, I would rather spend my time in the Rijksmuseum than in any A’dam coffeeshop or De Wallen (for a second visit or a longer stay I would avoid ‘touristic Amsterdam’ altogether: this amazing city has so much more to offer), but hey, the most important idea is that you are free to choose! And nobody should be interfering with that right.
