Zo’n duizend cannabisliefhebbers kwamen op 20 april, 420, voor de Stopera in Amsterdam bijeen voor een Smoke-Out protest tegen de wietpas en discriminatie. Fotoreportage…
Ik was er bij.
Maar zoals de fotos ook laten zien, waren het vooral de oudere jongeren die in de benen zijn gekomen.
Kennelijk maakt het de jong volwassenen weinig uit wat voor drugsbeleid er gevoerd gaat worden.
At first I have to say: It was a very nice Smoke-Out, I had a lot of fun. Big Up. I think I´ll return next year.
But now I want to add some critics, I just have to!
-Why didnt you guys anounce the actual meeting point earlier?
None of the coffeeshops we went to, knew about the event. Not even at Greenhouse Seeds! Most foreigners I talked too, had the same problem, so in the end we went to the hash museum, where we luckily found the group.
-Why didnt you hand out Weed Joints?
Getting a big tobacco-only Joint at this Smoke-Out made me pretty angry! Why are we travelling to Amsterdam??? I travelled 12 hours to smoke Fake-Joints?
I know its illegal, but the police didnt care about it anyway, so you guys could have easily gifted some real Joints to the crowd (maybe with trimmings, so its cheaper)
-Why wasnt there a legal demonstration before or afterwards? It would not have been a problem for you, to get a legal Meeting-Point, which you could have made Public and which you could have been promoting with posters and Flyers!
-An extreme Idea: All Shops should have been closed between 15:30 and 17:00, with a sign hanging out: “Go to this place, get free Weed at the 420 Smoke Out!”
Any of these ideas would have brought you hundreds, or thousands of more demonstrants!
So please: Get braver! Dont be afraid! You have to defend your freedom, or they will take it away from you!!!
Comme toujours en Holland pour le cannabis ils ont pour but de nous stationner ou ont risque pas de trop deranger.[sauf les cignes et les canards]Comme souvent toutes les societes qui font du commerce sur le dos du cannabis etaient reste a la maison.Si l’ensemblent des growshops,coffeeshops,smartshop,media faisaient l’UNION la situation serait bien differante.Mais comme toujours aussitot que les gouvernants disent que…?Tout le monde baissent son pantalon…le profit n’a plus d’odeur.Meme si cela va au detriment de leurs propre enfants.Si vous souhaitez savoir plus sur mes reflextions autour de mon amour pour cette plante des Dieu rendez-vous:www.cannafou.over-blog.com.Un cannamitier a tous.
Thanks for your comment. The Smoke-Out was not organised by the VOC, but by Coffeeshopnieuws.nl / Peter Lunk.
One of the problems we have in the Netherlands is that both the consumers and the entrepreneurs (growshops, coffeeshops) are extremely hard to mobilize. Most smokers don’t even know that cannabis is still officially forbidden, the only thing that is legal is to actually use it. In 2009, coffeeshop owner Nol van Schaik tried to get all of his colleagues to strike on election day. He put a lot of effort into it, but in the end only about 20 of the 666 Dutch coffeeshops actually closed their doors on election day…
Since 2008, the VOC has organised three editions of the Cannabis Tribunal and three editions of Cannabis Liberationday. Last year about 4000 people visited Cannabis Liberationday. This year we hope to double this figure. But this involves a lot of work, promotion, paperwork, permits, fundraising etc. The date for this year is June 17th, at Westerpark, Amsterdam. Live music, speakers, hemp market & cannabis filmfestival: all free. The VOC is fighting as hard as we can to defend our freedom: we know very well what’s at stake…
Thanks for the responses, I respect all the hard work you guys from the organisation crew are doing, and I know or at least I can imagine how tough it is to organise and promote such an event…
I just had to note these things, that I recognized as not so perfect…
Wish you a happy and successfull Bevrijdingsdag at May 5th 😉
Maar ik wil me aansluiten aan de kritiek die hierboven al werd vermeld. Het zou heel veel beter geweest zijn als de plaats van tevoren al was bekend. Wij hadden er allemaal behoorlijk moeite mee om de plek te kunne vinden en op tijd te berijken.
Wie willen jullie eigenlijk ermee verrassen? De gewoone mensen die er rondlopen weten toch sowieso niet wat er aan de hand zal zijn, ook als de plaats allang is aangekondigd.
Laten we er met zijn allen gewoon van uit gaan dat 420 2013 een groot feest wordt, en geen protest, dan hoeven we ook niet stiekem te doen over de lokatie.
Complimenten aan Peter en Nol voor deze eerste Smoke Out; goed initiatief op het juiste moment met ook een prima opkomst en een fantastische sfeer. Cannalympics idem dito. Je kunt zeggen wat je wilt, en op allerlei internetfora cynisch doen over allerlei zaken, maar wat echt telt is wat er ook echt irl gebeurd, en daar hebben Peter en Nol nu voor gezorgd. Goed gedaan! en 4.20 in 2013, dat wordt vast nog veel groter!
I have seen numerous references to the aim of coffeeshops being: to protect experimenting youngsters, who may use weed, from also experimenting with hard drugs and the organised crime that supplies them. This does not get raised in the arguments I see to protect coffeeshops. As a drug services provider I think that is the strongest reason to stop these anti- coffeeshop laws and regulations. Full on prohibition in Aussie means we can not get a smoke for weeks or months several times a year – but plenty of junk. NL seems to be going down that track and you guys just can not see it coming. There is a lot of good research to support coffeeshops as the only way to stop the start of hard drug use and injecting. Even Dutch Foreign Affairs had booklets on this. Keep the Faith! Max Harmreduction
Comments (19)
hanspy 21/04/2012 at 4:17 am
Mooie plaatjes. Wat had ik daar graag bij geweest.
Charlotte van der Zalm 21/04/2012 at 9:30 am
Mooi die Foto’s en mooi die opkomst ondanks het slechte weer, laten we zorgen dat 17 juni minstens 10 x zo groot word!!
nol van schaik 21/04/2012 at 11:23 am
Mooie reportage, Derrick, bedankt!!
Teun 21/04/2012 at 2:14 pm
oh yeah ik zag mezelf
youb 21/04/2012 at 3:11 pm
c etait bien mais je mattendais a beaucoup plus de monde decu sur place
H* 21/04/2012 at 9:48 pm
Mooi manifest op het rokersstoepje van van der Laan, goed gedaan! H*K te A
Ernst 22/04/2012 at 10:00 am
Ik was er bij.
Maar zoals de fotos ook laten zien, waren het vooral de oudere jongeren die in de benen zijn gekomen.
Kennelijk maakt het de jong volwassenen weinig uit wat voor drugsbeleid er gevoerd gaat worden.
groooveman 22/04/2012 at 12:40 pm
At first I have to say: It was a very nice Smoke-Out, I had a lot of fun. Big Up. I think I´ll return next year.
But now I want to add some critics, I just have to!
-Why didnt you guys anounce the actual meeting point earlier?
None of the coffeeshops we went to, knew about the event. Not even at Greenhouse Seeds! Most foreigners I talked too, had the same problem, so in the end we went to the hash museum, where we luckily found the group.
-Why didnt you hand out Weed Joints?
Getting a big tobacco-only Joint at this Smoke-Out made me pretty angry! Why are we travelling to Amsterdam??? I travelled 12 hours to smoke Fake-Joints?
I know its illegal, but the police didnt care about it anyway, so you guys could have easily gifted some real Joints to the crowd (maybe with trimmings, so its cheaper)
-Why wasnt there a legal demonstration before or afterwards? It would not have been a problem for you, to get a legal Meeting-Point, which you could have made Public and which you could have been promoting with posters and Flyers!
-An extreme Idea: All Shops should have been closed between 15:30 and 17:00, with a sign hanging out: “Go to this place, get free Weed at the 420 Smoke Out!”
Any of these ideas would have brought you hundreds, or thousands of more demonstrants!
So please: Get braver! Dont be afraid! You have to defend your freedom, or they will take it away from you!!!
Denis Beaumesnil 22/04/2012 at 11:51 am
Comme toujours en Holland pour le cannabis ils ont pour but de nous stationner ou ont risque pas de trop deranger.[sauf les cignes et les canards]Comme souvent toutes les societes qui font du commerce sur le dos du cannabis etaient reste a la maison.Si l’ensemblent des growshops,coffeeshops,smartshop,media faisaient l’UNION la situation serait bien differante.Mais comme toujours aussitot que les gouvernants disent que…?Tout le monde baissent son pantalon…le profit n’a plus d’odeur.Meme si cela va au detriment de leurs propre enfants.Si vous souhaitez savoir plus sur mes reflextions autour de mon amour pour cette plante des Dieu rendez-vous:www.cannafou.over-blog.com.Un cannamitier a tous.
webmaster 22/04/2012 at 1:12 pm
@Grooveman,
Thanks for your comment. The Smoke-Out was not organised by the VOC, but by Coffeeshopnieuws.nl / Peter Lunk.
One of the problems we have in the Netherlands is that both the consumers and the entrepreneurs (growshops, coffeeshops) are extremely hard to mobilize. Most smokers don’t even know that cannabis is still officially forbidden, the only thing that is legal is to actually use it. In 2009, coffeeshop owner Nol van Schaik tried to get all of his colleagues to strike on election day. He put a lot of effort into it, but in the end only about 20 of the 666 Dutch coffeeshops actually closed their doors on election day…
Since 2008, the VOC has organised three editions of the Cannabis Tribunal and three editions of Cannabis Liberationday. Last year about 4000 people visited Cannabis Liberationday. This year we hope to double this figure. But this involves a lot of work, promotion, paperwork, permits, fundraising etc. The date for this year is June 17th, at Westerpark, Amsterdam. Live music, speakers, hemp market & cannabis filmfestival: all free. The VOC is fighting as hard as we can to defend our freedom: we know very well what’s at stake…
groooveman 22/04/2012 at 10:17 pm
Thanks for the responses, I respect all the hard work you guys from the organisation crew are doing, and I know or at least I can imagine how tough it is to organise and promote such an event…
I just had to note these things, that I recognized as not so perfect…
Wish you a happy and successfull Bevrijdingsdag at May 5th 😉
Udo 23/04/2012 at 9:33 am
Een geweldige evenement!
Maar ik wil me aansluiten aan de kritiek die hierboven al werd vermeld. Het zou heel veel beter geweest zijn als de plaats van tevoren al was bekend. Wij hadden er allemaal behoorlijk moeite mee om de plek te kunne vinden en op tijd te berijken.
Wie willen jullie eigenlijk ermee verrassen? De gewoone mensen die er rondlopen weten toch sowieso niet wat er aan de hand zal zijn, ook als de plaats allang is aangekondigd.
Tot de volgende keer, ik kijk al uit naar.
Udo 23/04/2012 at 9:36 pm
Ons betoging was toch niet voor niets. Immers is de regering de volgende dag gefaald.
nol van schaik 24/04/2012 at 5:29 pm
Laten we er met zijn allen gewoon van uit gaan dat 420 2013 een groot feest wordt, en geen protest, dan hoeven we ook niet stiekem te doen over de lokatie.
rob 24/04/2012 at 8:39 pm
Complimenten aan Peter en Nol voor deze eerste Smoke Out; goed initiatief op het juiste moment met ook een prima opkomst en een fantastische sfeer. Cannalympics idem dito. Je kunt zeggen wat je wilt, en op allerlei internetfora cynisch doen over allerlei zaken, maar wat echt telt is wat er ook echt irl gebeurd, en daar hebben Peter en Nol nu voor gezorgd. Goed gedaan! en 4.20 in 2013, dat wordt vast nog veel groter!
Max Harmreduction 27/04/2012 at 1:10 pm
I have seen numerous references to the aim of coffeeshops being: to protect experimenting youngsters, who may use weed, from also experimenting with hard drugs and the organised crime that supplies them. This does not get raised in the arguments I see to protect coffeeshops. As a drug services provider I think that is the strongest reason to stop these anti- coffeeshop laws and regulations. Full on prohibition in Aussie means we can not get a smoke for weeks or months several times a year – but plenty of junk. NL seems to be going down that track and you guys just can not see it coming. There is a lot of good research to support coffeeshops as the only way to stop the start of hard drug use and injecting. Even Dutch Foreign Affairs had booklets on this. Keep the Faith! Max Harmreduction
Jennifer Smith 31/12/2018 at 7:21 pm
I am a cannabis supporter! Great coffeeshops in Amsterdam!
Kevin Murphy 28/07/2019 at 5:45 pm
Congratulations! Well-done. I love to support cannabis events like these. Thanks for sharing the experience.
Athea Jo 01/08/2019 at 2:25 am
I am a pro-cannabis supporter. I support this kind of activity. Congratulations to the people who organized this activity.