Only in Amsterdam...

[Loyal Rogue]

...can you get busted for smoking tobacco when you are supposed to be smoking pot.

A new country-wide anti-smoking law goes into effect next month which will also affect Dutch "coffee" shops and cafes.
It will be against the law to smoke any tobacco product inside the establishment, but smoking pot or hashish is still allowed because they're not covered by the law.

Soooo... do they have it backwards,... or do we?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...559030,00.html

In July, the Dutch government will introduce a nationwide smoking ban in bars, cafes and restaurants, aimed at protecting workers. But it will also make life a lot harder for the country's infamous coffee shops, where customers will only be allowed to smoke pure cannabis.

[WannaBe_80z]

I will test this theory when I am over there.

[koolbabs2000]

Smoking is smoking my friend... whether you smoke a cheroot or a joint or a ciggy or a beedi... So the ban apllies to all !!!

[CVO Chris]

The problem with this is some of the weed they sell is so strong you really have to dilute it with ordinary baccy. I don't smoke it anymore but some of the skunk I had when in the 'dam last time would've had me on a "whitey" on 1 or 2 spliffs if I smoked it pure.

It's also impractical to enforce. What are they going to do? Go in and ask people to tear open their joints to prove there's no tobacco in them? Can't see it happening.

[Loyal Rogue]

So the ban apllies to all !!!

Silly Babs.

That's the point of the thread... the ban doesn't apply to all, only tobacco.

To the best of my knowledge, all anti-smoking laws only mention, reference, or cover tobacco smoking.
These laws aren't to make tobacco illegal, but to protect workers from secondhand smoke from tobacco which can cause lung cancer and emphysema.
Normally any other substance is covered by other laws regarding possession so there is no need to include them in anti-smoking laws.

Which leads us back to the ridiculous idea of a cop dragging someone out of a room thick with smoke and people smoking because the guy lit up a cigarette.
That is going to be impossible to enforce unless you have an undercover cop who actually sees someone try to sneak tobacco into their pot... yeah right.

[gerbick]

Well... I've seen guys that were smoking a cigar in a bar get pulled out, meanwhile others around him were smoking cigarettes. I always thought that it was strange, they all smell the same to me; terrible.

But yeah... I get your original post LR; however I'm willing to bet this is closer to the movie studio model instead - they brought something into the building that they either do sell, or don't want consumed in the building. I get in trouble for bringing my own bottled water into movies all the time.

I just don't care what they say.

[Visionray]

it's not about practicality, or if marijuana smoke is as bad as cigarette smoke.

They aren't going to ban marijuana smoking in coffee shops because it would harm the tourism industry there. Besides, people go to coffee shops in Amsterdam to smoke MJ, not to drink coffee. If you want coffee you go to a cafe.

According to this...the compositions of marijuana and tobacco smoke are pretty much equally harmful...

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabi...is_info3.shtml

Though it's also true that many people who are bothered by the smell of cigarette smoke, aren't bothered by marijuana smoke.

Also interesting to note that many euros like to roll tobacco in with their marijuana joints...so they may not be happy with this.