These are the same people who have legalized drugs right? I mean, they go around stoned all day long, right? Grass, heroin, whatever you want you can get it in Amsterdam and it's legal, right?
That's mainly foreigners, and most Dutch are quite insulted that this is the only reason some go there. There's so many wonderful things there, spending all your time stoned isn't necessary. 
Look at the Dutch usage of illegal drugs, and compare it to North America's rates. 
How is the effectiveness of the Dutch approach to be judged? It would appear that over time these policies have not led to increased drug use or abuse -- the main argument against harm reduction by drug prohibitionists in this country. This should not be at all surprising given the American experience that decriminalization of marijuana in some states did not lead to noticeable increases in consumption or abuse.41 The Dutch are providing further evidence that the initiation and cessation of drug-taking behavior have much less to do with legislation than with other personal and social influences.
On the positive side, Dutch strategies seem to be mitigating the spread of HIV, reducing the number of IV drug users and keeping the overall prevalence of illicit drug use notably lower than in neighboring countries and far lower than in the United States. All this, while expending less resources on law enforcement and curtailing organized crime and political corruption. Had these results occurred in America, our political leaders would have proclaimed victory in the war on drugs. Nevertheless, prohibitionists in this country seem bent on ignoring or deriding the Dutch model. One is left to wonder about the true motives of these prohibitionists.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Other/dutch.htm
Or is the inference here that the Dutch are smarter than everyone else or know something they're not sharing with us?
Smarter, better ? Not quite the case....
Different ? That's certainly the case.
Just in things like flood control alone, they lead the world in technology and monitoring. Had American engineers brought in Dutch ones, New Orleans probably would have never been flooded ever again. That Dutch can't afford a mistake, or they will lose their entire country. After floods in the Fifties, that killed many that had survived the brutal German occupation, they decided to work harder at finding ways for success.
They'd been doing it for years, and few countries (due to geography) have their history and abilities to back up their talent with innovative ideas.
The importance of the protection has led the Dutch to dedicate a Department solely to the protection against floods. Furthermore, local waterboards are an extra layer of government specially dedicated to protection against floods and water management. This has resulted in a very high level of flood-protection. Flood-protection remains a continuous point of interest due to the vulnerability of the Dutch economy with regard to flooding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control_in_the_Netherlands
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