In the summer of 1998 , then-U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey triggered an unseemly diplomatic skirmish during a fact-finding visit to the Dutch capital . Frida Ghitis : The Netherlands once seemed permissive to U.S. on pot , same-sex marriage . But now the Dutch are moving in a different direction. She says `` family values '' stance conflicted with libertarian notion of freedom . Ghitis : U.S. differs with many nations on gun issue , but definition of freedom shifting .
Frida Ghitis : The Netherlands once seemed permissive to U.S. on pot , same-sex marriage . But now the Dutch are moving in a different direction. She says `` family values '' stance conflicted with libertarian notion of freedom . Ghitis : U.S. differs with many nations on gun issue , but definition of freedom shifting .