"We've given criminals the monopoly on it" says Femke Halsema, Amsterdam's mayor, who is now leading an international campaign to regulate the use of cocaine, which she hopes can help tackle the "disastrous" impacts of the substance's trafficking by criminal gangs. "The drug debate... is often an emotional and a moral discussion" she says, urging authorities to adopt a more "economic or pragmatic" stance on the issue. The Netherlands is one the main entry points for drugs into Europe, with ports like Rotterdam being heavily used by organised crime groups. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES