Keeping Off, Stepping On and Stepping Off: The Steppingstone Theory Reevaluated in the Context of the Dutch Cannabis Experience

• NCJ Number: 159439
• Journal: Contemporary Drug Problems Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1995) Pages: 483-513
• Author(s): S J Sifaneck; C D Kaplan
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 31 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This ethnographic analysis of drug use in the Netherlands examines patterns of progression in drug use under Dutch drug policies toward the use of soft and hard drugs.

Abstract

Cannabis in the Netherlands is not legal in the sense that alcohol and tobacco are legal; rather, it has a "pseudolegal" status, meaning that retail sales of under 30 grams and the public use of marijuana and hashish inside coffee shops are tolerated. This "gray" market challenges the notion that drug markets are either black or white and show that there are policy options between the rigid ideological poles of prohibition and legalization. Hard drugs, on the other hand, are strictly prohibited inside coffee shops and cafes where cannabis is sold and used. Hard drug users, however, are normally not prosecuted by the criminal courts for personal possession, and the police refrain from using repressive tactics against users and small- time dealers. Places where hard drugs are used and sold on a retail level are tolerated, albeit with a great deal of scrutiny by the police. In examining patterns of drug use in the Netherlands, researchers for this study conducted more than 1,500 hours of fieldwork, during which field notes were collected. Participant observation involved visiting coffee shops and private homes, while recording different life experiences of cannabis use, marketing, and culture. Perceptions of coffee shops and lifestyles were recorded, and more than 500 photographs were taken. Pamphlets, trade magazines, and other documents were collected and compiled. Informal interviews were conducted with patrons and employees of coffee shops throughout the Netherlands. Focus groups of cannabis users were developed in which personal testimonies of drug-use careers were probed. Findings show that most Dutch cannabis users want nothing to do with hard drugs. Cannabis users with hard-drug experience accounted for fewer than 10 percent of the participants in the focus groups. There was also a small percentage of former hard drug users who use marijuana and hashish in the coffee shops as a means of breaking the cycle of hard drug use and addiction. The implications of these findings for drug policy are discussed. 3 notes and 46 references