While in Amsterdam this past week, I noticed that despite the prevalence of coffeeshops offering marijuana and hashish, the city was devoid of a noticeable police presence and the the streets were not filled with obviously stoned people. I can't recall a single traffic accident, despite the plethora of bike lanes in which bicyclists, cars and pedestrians converged. If street crime is a problem there, I didn't see it.

Our drug laws are outdated and prevent people who could medically benefit from use of marijuana from obtaining it. They need to change. The Netherlands provides a valuable roadmap of how to do it. While pot is not legal in the Netherlands, it is openly tolerated and the coffee shops are taxed.

Perhaps once Americans get over the myth of the drug being a "gateway" to use of harder, more dangerous drugs, it will become possible.

Related: I just returned today from Amsterdam and will be back to regular blogging shortly. Probably because of the need to change planes in DC to fly back to Denver (another four hours of flight time) and the 8 hour time difference, I'm seriously jet-lagged. We owe a huge thanks to TChris for his mega-blogging in my absence.