[TheBagman]

Ananova - Cannabis smoker fined for tobacco

A cannabis smoker was fined by Dutch police - because his joint contained tobacco.

Holland has kept its liberal policy on cannabis smoking in the country's "coffee shops", even after a public smoking ban was introduced in Dutch cafes and restaurants last July.

An Amsterdam police spokesman admitted it could be difficult to understand the current policy of allowing smokers to puff away on pure cannabis while fining tobacco users, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"For logic it is sometimes impossible to explain, even to the Dutch," he said.

"The man was not fined for smoking a cannabis joint but for smoking. You can smoke cannabis but not tobacco in coffee shops."

The 27-year-old man owns one of the city's coffee shops, where the purchase and smoking of cannabis is tolerated, and he is expected to contest the case in court.

It will be the first test of a Dutch smoking ban that exempts people from enjoying joints as long as only pure marijuana is used.

The man was caught lighting a hand rolled cannabis joint during a routine police check and fined because officers found tobacco mixed with the soft drug.

The smoking ban is usually enforced by municipal health and safety inspectors "but if a police officer signals an infringement, he does not close his eyes to it," said the police spokesman.

[The_Egg]

You win some you loose some but you live to smoke another day...