Holland bans super-strength marijuana

Holland has banned super-strength marijuana over fears it's as dangerous as heroin and cocaine.  The Dutch have, after all this time, decided it should be re-classified as a Class A drug and in future, super-strength marijuana will be banned from Holland's coffee shops.

Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten has decreed that Dutch cafes will only sell cannabis that contains less than 15 per cent of the main active chemical THC, the compound that gives the user the 'high' and in large quantities, has been blamed for causing psychosis.

His decision will mean that around 80 per cent of coffee shop owners, many of them in Amsterdam, will have to replace around 80 per cent of their stock.

It's reasonable to assume that this new law will push the drug onto the black market.  Shop owners are furious and a spokesman said the new law will result in weak weed in the coffee shops and strong weed on the streets. 

So why after all this time is there suddenly a change in the law?  A study was done by the Dutch mental health charity, the Trimbos Institute, who found that skunk can be so dangerous, it should be classified alongside heroin and cocaine.

Currently you can buy up to five grammes (0.18 ounces) of marijuana for personal use in around 500 coffee shops in Holland.  It will now be up to local authorities to enforce the new legislation.