Wil PS Brussel als Europese drugshoofdstad?
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“De burgemeester van Brussel, Philippe Close (PS), ijvert voor de legalisering van cannabis en hoopt dat er snel coffeeshops zullen openen in de hoofdstad. “Op welke planeet leeft die eigenlijk?”, vraagt fractievoorzitter in het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement Dominiek Lootens-Stael zich af. “Onze hoofdstad heeft andere katten te geselen.”
Na zijn pleidooi vorige week om het gebruik en bezit van cannabis volledig te depenaliseren, bereikt Close nu ook de buitenlandse kranten pleiten met zijn ideeën. “Zo doet hij zijn standpunt nog eens uit de doeken in het Nederlandse NRC”, stelt Lootens-Stael vast. “Wat me daarbij zorgen baart is dat hij het gebruik van cannabis als de gewoonste zaak van de wereld ziet, hij kent naar eigen zeggen niemand die het nog nooit gebruikt heeft en vergelijkt het met een glas whisky op zaterdagavond. Het zegt veel over de bubbel waarin bepaalde politici leven.”
“Er moet wel degelijk een debat over drugsgebruik en drugshandel gevoerd worden”, aldus Lootens-Stael. “Het problematisch drugsgebruik en zeker het geweld van drugsbendes neemt de laatste jaren sterk toe in de hoofdstad. Naast bestraffing moeten preventie en hulpverlening meer aandacht krijgen, maar dat kan niet gepaard gaan met een gedoogbeleid.”
“Brussel heeft andere prioriteiten dan de legalisering van cannabis”
“Close ziet Quebec en Nederland als voorbeelden”, vervolgt Lootens-Stael. “Maar daar doet het gedoogbeleid het gebruik en het geweld net toenemen. In Nederland is de Mocromaffia net sterk geworden in de cocaïnehandel door in de cannabishandel een financiële basis te leggen. Tal van coffeeshops zijn bovendien in criminele handen. Is het die weg die Close op wil?”
“De Brusselse PS wil van cannabis en coffeeshops een verkiezingsthema maken”, merkt Lootens-Stael tot slot op. “Close wil voor 2024 de eerste stappen zetten voor een gedoogbeleid. En daarna wil hij de wet verlaksen. Brussel als Europese drugshoofdstad? Daar past het Vlaams Belang echter voor.”