International

  by Lindsy Long Walking down the streets of Amsterdam, you may often run into coffee shops, some with exaggerated graffiti on the outside walls. They are not regular cafés, but an authorized place to sell cannabis, also known as marijuana. In the worldwide battle against drugs, the Netherlands is an exception — a toleration policy regarding soft drugs and coffee shops, where cannabis is allowed to be sold no more than five grams per day per person. Cannabis might be considered as villainy. In some countries, but in the Netherlands, cannabis is a common party drug, with 25.7 per cent of people from age 15 to 64 ever used it, slightly higher than the average of Europe. Apart from being smoked in joints, cannabis has also been used in cooking hundreds of dishes, including cannabis pizza, salad, cake, and soup. The Stoner's Cookbook is one of the many websites that have detailed instruction and advice on how to effectively use cannabis into making dishes. It has more than 200 recipes of cooking with cannabis. Matt Gray, the CEO of the Stoner's Cookbook, said eating cannabis has much different effects compared with smoking it. "With edibles, the stoned feeling lasts much longer and takes about 45 minutes to kick in, and the effects can last up to 4 hours". Matt has been in the edible weed industry for two and a half years. He sees edible weeds as medicine that could help people with needs. "I believe edibles is an opportunity to bring happiness to patients around the world," he said. He said some carcinogens presented in smoking weed can be avoided by choosing cannabis food instead. "Whether you are Food that makes you high INTERNATIONAL looking for medical benefits or for a tasty meal, cannabis recipes can be enjoyable and beneficial," he said. But he suggests beginners should keep a dose of around 10mg per serving. "You can always have more cannabis, you can't have less. Therefore, it is important to take your time and be patient," he said. Elise, a 22-year-old local student who …

by Lindsy Long In a small residential neighborhood in the quiet city of Eindhoven in southern Netherlands, colourful lights decorate the surface of three residential houses. The lights are part of the project "Nature & Architecture", a concept created by audio-visual artist Noralie van den Eijnde and executed by children, architects and residents for the city's annual GLOW lights festival. A light show is nothing new for Hongkongers. Hong Kong is famous for its 13-minute long daily light and sound show "A Symphony of Lights" over Victoria Harbour, recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest of its kind. This $44 million project organised by Hong Kong Tourism Board has attracted millions of visitors since it started in 2004. But unlike Hong Kong's mission of attracting tourists, GLOW is wants to achieve something different. Around 50 light artists are participating in this year's GLOW light in art and architecture festival in Eindhoven, an interactive cultural event that attracted around 730,000 visitors in November this year, according to GLOW's official website. Over one week, various spots in the city were transformed into a temporary theatre. Like the Nature & Architecture show, residents in the project areas were also invited to participate in the projects. Artist Ms van den Eijnde specialises in designing multidisciplinary experiences with light, video and sound. This year, she was invited by the GLOW organizers to produce a social project for the neighbourhood themed on the nature and architecture. Residents used a broad selection of materials such as plants, ribbons, and plastic pieces for residents to make their DIY projects. "Children seemed to enjoy the preparation work and their parents were very supportive in assisting me to direct the process," Ms van den Eijnde said. Eugene Franken, one of the participants and owners of the projected …