Arjan, the owner of the Greenhouse Coffeeshops in Amsterdam was arrested today during the High Times Cannabis Cup. He was dragged off in a van and no one knows yet why he was arrested. Arjan is probably one of the biggest promoters of cannabis in Holland and has probably made more money from cannabis than any legitimate business. His coffeeshops and seed business are famous worldwide. See the video of his arrest: http://www.growhd.tv/video/ARJAN-ge...bis-Cup-2010/932261b4d5a32e0aa951cfa564e4bced
I will be interested to look into this further.....please post any more information you may find Skip. Thanks.
The Netherlands' conservative government has been making a big issue of cannabis, cracking down, calling it evil, etc. So this bust of Arjan may be a PR stunt on the part of the Gov't to highlight it's fight against the EVIL CANNABIS... I'll try to find more info from my Dutch sources... The Dutch are very secretive when it comes to arrests. They don't even release the full name of the people they arrest! But it will come out sooner or later.
Having previously lived in the Netherlands, Noord-Brabant, near Eindhoven, im wondering if the new government is becoming more strict in larger cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, etc.....but still letting things remain basically the same in smaller cities and towns? I moved from the Netherlands almost 7 years ago, and my understanding of the entire cannabis culture when i lived there was limited. (i was in my early teens) I agree with you though man, this is (almost) most definitely a publicity stunt because Arjan is, as you said Skip, one of the most prominent figures in the Dutch cannabis culture + High Times Cannabis Cup (one of, if not the foremost Cannabis related gathering on earth) = high profile publicity for the government..... It is a shame really if this is the case....
The netherlands is mainly getting more strict in border cities, the other towns and big cities probably aren't changing their policy a lot from how it is at the moment.
Actually the reverse may be true. Grows in small towns are being ratted out by neighbors more often, thanks to the gov't encouraging them to do so, even providing "scratch and sniff" cards so they know what fresh cannabis smells like... So what possible reasons could they have for hauling Arjan in? Does this mean the end of the Greenhouse Coffeeshops?
Oh wow this is "unexpected" to say the least...i guess we have to wait and see, the suspence is ugh...easy does it....
