DUTCH OK MARIJUANA FARMING

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A broad coalition of political parties
unveiled a pilot program Friday to regulate marijuana farming on the
model of tobacco. Opponents say that's essentially legalizing growing the drug.

Under the test program, to be conducted in the southern city of
Maastricht, growers would no longer be the target of police raids or
prosecution.

Coffee shops permitted to sell marijuana would be required to provide
consumers with information about the health hazards of smoking --
similar to tobacco warnings -- and the chemical content of the
marijuana. The shops would also have to say where they bought the
marijuana they sell.

Under current Dutch policy, marijuana and hashish are illegal but
police don't prosecute for possession of less than one ounce.
Authorities also look the other way regarding the open sale of pot
and hash in designated coffee shops.

But commercial growing is outlawed, giving rise to a contradictory
system in which shop owners have no legal way to purchase their
best-selling product.