La resistencia a la privatización se ha convertido en una poderosa fuerza para el cambio: la remunicipalización. El término “remunicipalización” se refiere tanto a reivindicar la propiedad pública de los servicios, como a crear nuevos servicios públicos. En los últimos años, el Transnational Institute y organizaciones asociadas identificaron más de 1.400 casos exitosos de remunicipalización en más de 2.400 ciudades de 58 países del mundo.

Building on a long history and culture of tolerance, the Dutch responded to illicit drugs with decades of pragmatic measures free of judgment. A central element of modern Dutch drug policy was a crucial decision to establish a legal and practical separation of cannabis—judged to pose "acceptable" risks to consumers and society—from hard drugs associated with unacceptable risk. This policy effectively decriminalized possession and use of cannabis and opened the door for tolerated outlets for small-scale cannabis sales that eventually took the form of the well-known Dutch "coffee shops."

Conforme a la Ley de 1976 sobre los estupefacientes (Opiumwet 1976), se prohíbe la posesión, el comercio, el cultivo, el transporte, la fabricación, la importación y la exportación de estupefacientes incluidos el cannabis y sus derivados. No obstante, dicho Estado aplica una política de tolerancia respecto al cannabis en los Países Bajos. La citada política se traduce, en particular, en la proliferación de coffee shops que se dedican principalmente a la venta y al consumo de esta droga denominada «blanda». Las autoridades locales pueden autorizar tales establecimientos respetando determinados criterios. En varios coffee shops, se comercializan también bebidas no alcohólicas y alimentos.

Under the 1976 Law on opium (Opiumwet 1976), the possession, dealing, cultivation, transportation, production, import and export of narcotic drugs, including cannabis and its derivatives, are prohibited in the Netherlands. That Member State applies a policy of tolerance with regard to cannabis. That policy is reflected inter alia in the establishment of coffee-shops, the main activities of which are the sale and consumption of that ‘soft’ drug. The local authorities may authorise such establishments in compliance with certain criteria. In a number of coffee-shops, non-alcoholic beverages and food are also sold.

The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of coffee shop availability on the prevalence and intensity of cannabis use, as well as the effectiveness of the ‘separation of markets’ policy. A convenience sample of nightlife visitors and a sub-selection of previous year cannabis users were used for analyses on cannabis and hard drugs use. Logistic regression analyses showed that coffee shop proximity does not seem to be linked to prevalence of cannabis use or intensity of use. In addition, proximity of coffee shops does not seem to be linked directly to hard drugs use.

Food sovereignty has recently gained momentum in social movements, farmer cooperatives and NGOs, as a framework that places farmer’s and nature’s rights as central to food and agricultural policy. Food sovereignty’s strength is that it outlines an alternative policy to the contemporary global agro-industrial food system.