Han Blaumhof

March 3rd, 2011

In Amsterdam, I met with the inspector Han Blaumhof. Twenty-two years ago, he and his team scoured the area of cereal capital of the Netherlands, catching street drug dealers. Then it was for the most part come from African and Germans. Young Germans are buying up heroin, mixed with similar substances, and drove to his home to sell. They themselves had used a clean strong heroin, police have repeatedly found the corpses in the streets of young Germans, whose cause of death was overdose. In the circle of traders inspector met a Dutch girl. She was a chronic heroin addict.

Sense of her life was to get drugs, others were not interested. The Inspector took her to the police station, where he heard woeful story of her life. He helped her find housing, together with her discussing her problems by suggesting how to cope with anxiety, do not use drugs. Two decades later he met on the waterfront canal elegant lady with two children and found in her the girl. "I seem to you once saw!" – He told her.

Lady screwed up her eyes and, to the amazement of passers-by rushed to his neck: "My savior! My father! " After their long meetings, then she said, she managed to quit drugs. She successfully married. According to observations of the inspector, among drug users is pretty high percentage of women. The same dose of the drug on a woman effect is stronger than man, because of the peculiarities of the organism that contains more fat and less water: dehydrated body increases the concentration of drugs and their effects. In addition, a woman is easier to get money – she can in extreme cases, legal prostitution and a man compelled to go on offense. For this reason, the police often have to arrest the men, although women drug abusers in the country quantitatively greater. – I would not like my kids have used any drugs – says the inspector. – But I look at the problem as a police officer. Trade soft drugs, as well as heavy, we have punished, but their use is not in violation of the law. Was would be a mistake to take the Dutch tolerance for appeasement. The legislation here is not a liberal. Possession of drugs, even for personal consumption, entails imprisonment from 1 year to 4 years. A export and import of drugs, their manufacture, transportation within the country, sales and even just the intention to commit any of these actions are punishable by imprisonment from 4 to 16 years and (or) a fine not exceeding one million guilders. Dutch sure the right fan of marijuana and hashish expect lenient approach. However, the legalization of any drug is not provided in government programs. If this happened, if the Netherlands were unique in the world, have ventured to take this step, the magnitude of the drug trade would not become smaller. Bravely acknowledging his own weakness and inability to cope with drug addiction, as well as tobacco and alcohol, the Dutch define achievable goal – to proceed from social expediency.

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