Enter (April 7, 1997)

what is the Dutch soft drug policy?

Quote :

As is widely known the Netherlands has for many years operated a policy of tolerance towards soft drug use. This is not a laissez faire policy however as the distribution of hashish and marijuana to the public is strictly regulated by means of the coffee shop system.

A common misconception is that soft drugs have been legalised in Holland whereas in fact cultivation and possession remain a criminal offence. Personal use is tolerated however and there are many coffee shops and bars where lighting a joint draws no more attention than smoking a cigarette.

This origins of this policy can be traced back to 1970 when the open sale of cannabis was tolerated for the first time at the Kraalingen pop festival. Police were ordered not to arrest hash dealers who were openly selling their wares within the festival grounds. This was a major departure from the strict drug laws which were in force at the time and set a trend for the future. The first coffee shop selling soft drugs, the 'Mellow Yellow', was opened in Amsterdam in 1972.
Cannabis Cafes

Coffee shops specialising in the sale of cannabis spread to many large towns and cities in the late seventies and by the mid-eighties they had become an accepted part of Dutch life. In the beginning they were careful not to display outward signs of the trade and only a small amount was allowed on the premises. The dealer looked like any other customer and kept his wares in a bag under the table.

This situation has changed in most areas and now the various types of cannabis on offer are often on display just like any other commodity. Menus on the wall and table tops list the prices per gramme of the different varieties and the actual selling is often done by the same waitress who pours the coffee. Some outlets have a special counter where hash is cut from large blocks and weighed while you wait, finally laying to rest the secretive, 'under the counter' atmosphere of days gone by.

Coffee shops may not admit anyone under 18 and alcohol is not permitted. They must also ensure that hard drugs are not sold or used on the premises. The purity of the stuff on sale is subject to local authority control and tax is levied on the trade.
Do it yourself

Home grow shops can be found in most big towns selling all the equipment needed to grow marijuana at home under lights. This is by no means a secretive business as these shops advertise freely in newspapers and even sponsor local football teams etc.

The irony is that people caught growing weed are liable to prosecution and the confiscation of all the plants and equipment. A small amount of plants may be ignored by the police but housing associations are getting tough on tennants who engage in this form of free enterprise.

Industrial-scale marijuana farms are common in Holland and stories of large busts are a regular feature in the Dutch press. This seems to be a token effort though as there is never any shortage of top-quality 'Nederwiet' in the coffee shops.
Social Factors

The idea behind this policy of tolerance is to separate the sale of cannabis products from the trade in hard drugs, this is the greatest argument in favour of the coffee shop system. This idea has been a great success providing casual smokers with regulated, public outlets to buy soft drugs without the need to come into contact with the drug underworld.

This is in stark contrast to countries which operate a policy of prohibition where buyers only interested in cannabis must do business with unscrupulous criminal dealers who may also have other wares for sale.

Another advantage of the system is the almost total elimination of small-time, black market dealers in cannabis, unfortunately this does not hold true for hard drug sales.

So now we're all fully informed with that...

thanks DoF

I love Enter. Has some amazing songs and the grunts

Thanking the Dutch soft drug policy made me laugh

i love the cover

1. Restless 5/5 What can I say, I love it, particularly the Eindhoven version.
2. Enter 5/5 The growls I don't mind here and I love Sharon's part.
3. Pearls of Light 3/5 I like the atmosphere, at least in the first part of the song. I don't like the direction it takes after that, becoming more heavy.
4. Deep Within 1/5 My least favorite song by WT. I've never listened the whole way through.
5. Gatekeeper 3.5/5 The intro of this song is the so epic, possibly my favorite instrumental passage of WT. Unfortunately, the rest of the song is terrible.
6. Grace 3/5 I don't mind Grace, though it tends to drags on a bit. The soft part in the middle is beautiful.
7. Blooded 1.5/5 Nothing special.
8. Candles 2.5/5 The beginning is so pretty! The rest of the song, I couldn't care less.

I will say, this album has grown on me so much since the first time I heard it.

So I was in sociology with WT playing as always because I hate sociology and I was listening to Enter and I realised just how much I loved it. It is just so amazing and so epic. Ok I knew this already but I had kind of not listened to it as much recently. But it really hit me how much I still love Enter and the grunts and just the whole feeling of Enter.

Toatsies wrote:

7. Blooded 1.5/5 Nothing special.

Really??? I LOVE Blooded!

So do I Epic instrumental.

Yeah! I don't even mind Sharon not being in it...'cause it's really good.

Mmm, I know a lot better Instrumentals than Blooded... It's not bad, but not great either imo. This'd be my list:

Restless: 4/5
Enter: 5/5
Pearls of Light: 3/5 (depends on my mood)
Deep Within: 3/5
Gatekeeper: 2/5
Grace: 2/5
Blooded: 3/5
Candles: 3/5

I don't give any 1/5's though, just because it's still WT
This is purely based on the album versions, because I like Deep Within and Candles live

Toatsies wrote:

8. Candles 2.5/5 The beginning is so pretty! The rest of the song, I couldn't care less.

But...but...the piano! And I love the "a million fallen stars" bit. So epic

Blooded is so EPIC though! I love it. Like pie.

I'm not gonna give individual song ratings...'cause they all get 5/5 from me.

Except Deep Within.

I really love Deep Within atm I didnt like it as much because there was no Sharon but I'd give it a 5/5 now

i love ENTER!!!it`s my 2nd fave album,it`s kinda creppy but beautful in the same way..i really love the grunts but i still think that nothing compares with Sharon`s angelic voice
my favorite song from it are Candles,Enter and Restless...my last i think it`s Deep Within but i don`t hate,i just like it less than others
i love collecting pictures from Enter era..i have a lot..but..not that much as TSFand THOe eras(to be sincerly i don`t have a lot ME era pictures)i love how young were the "old"band...i love the videos ftom Dynamo 1998,i watch them almost everyday and i never get bored....
and i want to give some stars to all the songs:
1.Restless 4/5
2.Enter 5/5
3.Pearls Of Light 4/5
4 Deep Within 2/5(sorry )
5.Gatekeeper 3/5( i love it bu the lyrics are so eerie)
6.Grace 4/5(i love sharon`s evil voice )
7.Blooded 3/5(it`s good for intrumental but wish Sharon was here)
8.Candles 10/10(no,i`m kindding!it`s 5/5 but i`s my favorite song from Enter )
and i realy love the heavy intrumentals of this album..the best!(for instrumentals)

More attempts at discussion

How do you all feel about Enter and it having a lot less of Sharon on then any of the other albums? Do you like the grunts? Do you wish there were less grunts? Do you like how Enter sounds as in it being more raw and heavy? Do you wish WT would get a bit of Enter back into their new album?

Discussion people

Okay,yes,let`s discuss
Well I LOVE ENTER,it`s the most atmospheric(like I already said )album to me.It`s heavy dark,mysterious,it`s very special to me,ad I think it`s a very good beginning for WT.Maybe it`s not the most complex album but I gotta say that has some EPIC song there
Well yes it`s less Sharon there,but when it actually yes it`s sounds beautifully as usual.Just more mysterious I guess.But it`s still our lovely Sharon,that we all admire her
Yes Enter it`s much raw and heavier than other albums,and maybe nobody will agree with me but I think it`s heavier at some points than THOE
I quite like the grunts but only combined with a wonderful voice like Sharon`s.It gives you the feeling about angel/devil beauty/beast good/bad and so on.It`s more lie an atmosphere item i guess.
Less grunts?WEll there aren`t actually many grunt,to be honest.Just Deep Within and Gatekeeper and maybe Enter has more grunts than singing,but in rest of the songs Sharon sings the most.Well I guess i have nothing against grunts as much as Sharon is still there
Kinda yes,I would like some Enter era-ish stuff into their new album,but I would rather preffere a surprise.I would like to bring back some old Enter song on live shows thought.But that`s just my idea

There are`t many Enter era lovers thought.But I do like this album very much.

I'd definatley love some more Enter songs live. They have been playing Restless which I love of course but it'd be nice to have Enter or Gatekeeper just to shock us all

I like the structures of the songs in Enter, it's not the usual verse chorus structure but very complex It's a lot different.

I love that they took the grunts and the 'doom' feel of the time and used it. Like they said it was fresh and new at the time and I think it was a really good idea to start their music like it.

I just love the whole feel of the album, it's very atmospheric in a different way than TSF is being atmospheric with the orchestra.

See, I ADORE Enter. The grunts are great, the heaviness is great. I think Enter and The Dance are the only albums (of any artist) where I actually like grunts. They managed a great balance of grunting and singing in there.

Enter's definitely heavier than THoE, and I still love it I even love Blooded, which people seem to not like as much, due to lack of Sharon. But it's a fucking epic song!!

IT'S ALMOST ENTER DAY!

Yeah!! We gotta listen to the entire album all day. Yups.

I'm marking my calender as we speak. That'll be a busy day for me!