Here you will find something about the country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Basque_Country and try to go through Bilbao, San Sebastian or Santander and you will be in the heart of the homeland.
Marijuana and Cannabis News
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| Flashpoints |
| The Basque Country in Spain (yellow area on the map) is legalizing marijuana in 2012. |
As the U.S. federal government torques up its war on marijuana, parts of Europe are going in the other direction. The Socialist government of the Basque Country in Spain will approve a law in early 2012 which legalizes the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis, according to health authorities in the province.
The Basque government, led by Patxi Lopez, has decided it is better to regulate clubs where consumers will be able to use marijuana which will be produced and distributed by members of the club themselves, reports Typically Spanish.
Spanish drug laws currently distinguish between possession for personal use, and production or sale. Possession carries administrative fines, but production and sale currently can result in jail time.
Government officials said the new law would better explain the consequences of consumption to the public, and would create "a certain space for personal autonomy," adding that prohibition only leads to "clandestine action, delinquency and the black market."
"It is better to regulate than to ban," said Jesus Maria Fernandez, second in command at the region's health authority, reports the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD). Fernandez called marijuana use "a practice that is already consolidated."
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| ENCOD |
"We do not want to be prohibitionists," agreed leading health official Rafael Bengoa, who said "technical and legal studies have been undertaken."
The Basque region already has many cannabis social clubs, which until now have been subject to occasional raids by the police.
According to Bengoa, the Basque regional government wants to "open a debate" with groups in favor of cannabis legalization and to "shape their rights."
Marijuana legalization is just one part of an overall bill on drug addiction, which also addresses treatment for gambling addictions (which reportedly affect two percent of the Basque population) and for "addiction to new technology" (of course we wouldn't know anything about that).
The news from Spain follows Switzerland's announcement that it will permit residents to grow up to four cannabis plants for personal consumption starting on January 1, 2012.
In much of Europe, cannabis has become so much a part of everyday life that almost nobody takes notice of its legal standing anymore, reports PR Canna Zine. The process now underway is one of laws and politicians finally catching up with the public.
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41 comments
THE DUTCH EXPERENCE RULED in stockport ,respect to colin ...10 years ago open the coffee shop,,
i was a member of THE DUTCH EXPERIENCE!!!!! stockports coffee shop....much respect to colin !!!who served a prison sentence for trying to support all us tokers..welldone mate!!10years ago this all happened!wow how time flys...re JOICE
I live in Spain. We can legally grow marijuana already, in fact it's never been illegal, and the right to grow it is a part of the national constitution. The limit is 4 plants per household, and 2 plants if you live in an apartment. We have no black market here and it's almost impossible to buy weed, because nobody sells it (there's no need, everybody grows their own). It's odd that America is so backward when it comes to personal freedom yet calls itself "democratic" and the "land of the free" - two definitions from which it could not be further.
I live in Basque Country and I think theres black market in whole Spain, and here you can buy weed everywhere. Although its not legal, people dont hide to smoke. Legalising will help to regulate the quañity of the drug, to attract turists...but will also rise the prices
Spain follows Switzerland's Great new's about time so come on UK do the right thing and Legalize it..
"[...] adding that prohibition only leads to "clandestine action, delinquency and the black market".[...]" This quotation got truncated and the last bit of the sentence should be remembered as it reaches far more than just local legislation...
His words were: "[prohibition alone encourages] clandestine action, delinquency, the black market AND injustices in the producing countries"This shows their understanding of the problem on a global scale rather than a local point of view.The fact that (local) officials from a developed country can acknowledge the injustice its laws creates in a producing country is quite unique and should be shouted from the roof tops.
Furthermore, although many European countries have relaxed their laws on cannabis, the most populated countries that are France, Germany and the UK, have high consumption rates but follow the US model of strict prohibition.
Sadly, the Dutch are now trying to go back on their tolerance policy as Sam Wayne Smith said, to avoid drug tourism from France. Not that the Germans don't go to Dutch coffeeshops but they are usually more civilized than the French "drug tourists". That also means that France is the last main support of a prohibition in Europe with it's estimated 150.000 to 300.000 illegal growers and millions of users.
If the most visited country in the world followed its most progressive neighbors in terms of drug policy, no doubt their economy would go through the roof and everybody would have even more reasons to hate the French.
The dutch are fucked now, I just can't wait until all the tourists that used to travel to Amsterdam to get some bud, start spending their money in the Basque Country.
Adios Amsterdam, Hola Basque Country.
Here's Google's automatic translation of Jantaka Buddha's msg into Turkish: Amerika ile ilgili sorun, pek çok insan, çok fazla kişisel gündemleri, çok fazla richfags ve çok birçok Karfagians vardır. Onlar aynı insanlar nispeten birleşik bir bölge çünkü Bask şanslı. Onlar siyah "gangsterler" yasadışı sürüler halinde giren Meksikalılar tam şehir içi gettolarda zorunda değilsiniz. Onlar Amerika'dır gibi borç boğulma çünkü yasağını sonuna kadar gelemez. Amerika hapsetme yoluyla para kazanmak için yasadışı uyuşturucu bağlıdır. Kavga ederler yüzden BTW, savaş ve şiddet ile Amerika takıntısı nedir "Uyuşturucu Savaşı" desteklemek için bu kadar zor? İtalya, televizyonda çıplak kadın gösterir, ama bu işte bir hayır hayır? Yine de, insanlar, ama Bicker ve birbirlerine yumruk hiçbir şey yapmayın korkunç cinayet sahneleri ve gerçeği gösterir görmek için gayet iyidir?Bask Jersey Shore var, ve onlar başarılı bir nedendir. Ayrıca milyarlarca dolar kaybeder ve duvar sokak bankacıları sorumlu tutulan yoktur. Şimdiye kadar önemli bir miktarda para geldiyse, orada hareket ve özgürlük dediğimiz bu saçmalık uzak küçük bir iş başlatmak için iyi olurdu.Hükümet uyun ve sakin tutmak sürece özgürsünüz. Let wisdom govern. Çok şükür ABD.
The USA cannot impose it's will ,on the people of Earth forever. They have done this since the 1920's. Marijuana first banned in the US , and they influenced other countries .The time to care of our own destinies is NOW.
This becomes very interesting now. Pressure over "drug tourism" in the Netherlands was aimed a the French, cause Germans and Belgians are not banned under the proposal.... So this will make the French southern border the "drug tourist" destination..... Amsterdam will have serious competition now....Maybe High Times should look at another Cup location beginning NOW...There are growers there already, seed breeders and seed bank operators as well....
I am saying the tired dynamic of "blaming the Dutch" over drugs tourism will no longer work. I am saying that the changes proposed in Denmark and Baaskenlaan will mean that France and the rest of the EU has to change their tune over the access to cannabis.
A fully legal regulated supply and distribution system as the Basque are proposing will totally alter the landscape in the EU, for the rest of Spain will surely follow...It is the money.. How will the EU be able to tell Spain "No, you can't use cannabis cash to balance your budget!!"?
The Dutch ban on tourist's consumption is going belly up before it is ever enacted, despite the rumours to the contrary...;-D
I think I found where I will retire to.....next year.At least somewhere, someone's government is being progressive on the issue. Jataka I think u nailed it. We breed violence and hatred in America. Not a world leader in my book
The problem with America is there are too many people, too many personal agendas, too many richfags and too many Karfagians. The Basque are lucky because they're a relatively unified region of the same people. They don't have inner city ghettos full of black "gangsters" and Mexicans illegally entering in droves. They can afford to end prohibition because they're not drowning in debt like America is. America depends on illegal drugs to make money through incarceration. That's why they fight so hard to prop up the "War on Drugs" BTW, what is with America's obsession with war and violence? Italy shows naked women on TV but that is a no no here? Yet it is perfectly fine to see gruesome crime scenes and reality shows where people do nothing but bicker and punch one another? The Basque don't have Jersey Shore, and that is one reason they're prospering. They also don't have wall street bankers who lose billions of dollars and then are not held accountable for it. If I ever came into a significant amount of money it would be nice to move there and start a small business far away from this bullshit we call freedom. You're free as long as you obey the government and keep quiet.
Hmmm,,geographical and altitude of their country also makes them eligible to grow the finest indica strains from around the world,,and only a few hours to any of five or six countries as possible income,,while most of Europe struggles to keep their economies afloat,,the Basque will be the new bankers in Europe,,if other countries don't follow suite swiftly.
"It is better to regulate than to ban,"A voice of sanity and reason, although the lessor of two evils...Legalize.
How I wish for this light to shine into the dark fusty hollows of the DEA.
This isn't surprising because the Europeans are recognizing personal choices and personal freedoms that the US thinks are third rail issues. Legalizing cannabis is the most simple solution to many of today's problems but it seems that doing it is a politician's career killer. The US needs criminals no matter how small or useless the supposed crime. Having a content and happy population isn't in their playbook. They need people prejudiced against any one of a million things.
thats bang on i live in stockport uk we have a place called hempshawlane where you know exactly what they did there years ago grow hemp the place is still there+WE HAD THE FIRST COFFESHOP IN ENGLAND THE DUTCH EXPERIENCE GO ON PRAISE CANNACOL
"addition to new technology" (of course we wouldn't know anything about that).
I'm pretty sure that's a typo and they meant 'addicttion.
I made exactly the opposite mistake, on a job application. :/
Perhaps Obama will follow suit after a few other countries start to legalize. We can't let the United States lag behind the rest of the world. We must end prohibition.
