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No weed pass, no cannabis, Dutch tell foreigners

edgarshade

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Joined
Aug 31, 2010
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1,954
"A ruling from the EU's top court could mark the end of the Netherlands' welcoming coffee-shop culture"

'For more than thirty years tourists have flocked to the Netherlands to indulge in a legal high courtesy of the country's famously soft stance on weed. An estimated two million Britons alone visit Amsterdam each year with hundreds of thousands peeling off to sample some of the pungent goods inside one of the city's ubiquitous coffeeshops. Small border cities, meanwhile, can expect as many as three quarters of their regulars to be foreign. Maastricht – a southern offshoot of the Netherlands sandwiched between Belgium and Germany – receives an astonishing 2.1million drug tourists a year.

But the free-wheeling dope days may soon be over for British visitors if the Netherlands' new centre-right coalition government has its way. Following growing complaints over rising crime in the country's border towns – and a string of recent drug-related shootings in the south – the Dutch government has signaled its intention to ban foreigners from buying cannabis altogether.

Tomorrow [THURS], following a request for advise from the Holland's highest court, the European Court of Justice will decide whether such a ban contravenes European law, where free trade rules forbid discriminating against purchasers on grounds of nationality.

Confident of a favourable verdict stating that drugs are not subject to the same rules as legal goods, Justice and Security Minister Ivo Opstelten has already announced a plan to turn the country's 700 coffeehouses into private members clubs, effectively making them out of bounds for foreigners.

Coffeshop owners say they'll fight such moves in the courts and warn that any further attempt to crack down on the legal sale of cannabis will simply force people into the hands of criminals.'



'Banning sales to foreigners, meanwhile, might halt some of the traffic and crime problems in the border towns, but it would also deprive such areas of a major source of revenue in difficult economic times. An independent study in Maastricht commissioned by the coffeshops estimated that “drug tourists” bring in 141m euros a year. “That's the spend outside of the coffeeshops,” says Mr Josemans. “It doesn't even include the money they spend in here.”

Sitting in the office above his coffeeshop, a joint in had, Mr Josemans knows he has a fight on his hands. “Politicians have come at us before, but never like this,” he says. “I just hope they're thinking about the long term future. Not just looking for a quick way to win quick votes”.'

UK Independent

By Jerome Taylor in Maastricht
Wednesday, 15 December 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/no-weed-pass-no-cannabis-dutch-tell-foreigners-2160631.html
 
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got their in october woo :p

Actually i think this is going to be a really good test of the prohitbition theory. we have 30 years of statistics based around open coffee shops, now they are going to do a mini-prohibition experiment. every arrest, every shooting, every tourist dollar not collected. its going to be clear cut.

One thing they dont say is that there were suggests early on about letting the coffee shops grow 5 plants for each club member. this could be a thorn in the side since its prohibiting sale to forgeins, yet legitimizing the production (which is the cause of the violence)....
 
It is not over yet.

We knew the way this case would go. It never had a chance. Cannabis is illegal but tolerated in this country. Therefore, the EU court could never rule EU commerce rules apply.

Holland is a huge, export-oriented country, so it will not kill the economy but it will not be good.

But its NOT over, it has to pass the legislature and other things. Then we have the Dutch way of ignoring laws (-: They never really banned cig. smoking here.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/12/eu_court_clears_the_way_for_to.php
 
Other European countries are forcing the Dutch to make their pot illegal to foreigners because the surrounding European countries are losing profits from their illegal drug dealings. Their citizens aren't buying their pot so they are forcing the dutch to make it illegal.
 
If this effects the econemy and raises crime not lowers it like it probably would it would definatly be shitty, but more shitty is the huge blow this will be to the movement towards leglizing pot. We want things moving forwards not taking a huge step backwards. that said I cant see this passing
 
:O They cant do that, surely. Its discriminating banning foreigners. Weather its a drug or no drug its legal over there so its fair trade.
 
All the more reason to legalize it everywhere, amirite? You don't see gang shootouts over a bottle of vodka do you? No, because it's legal pretty much everywhere.

When's the last time someone grew some illegal tobacco and got their house robbed? Never, because it's legal.
 
Shits going bad for weed decriminalization / legalization in general lately.

Proposition 19 failure, synthetic cannabinoid ban, now in this part of the world, nay, the very symbolic beacon of safe, recreational pot regulation, another setback.

Too bad really. It's gonna be a long time to switch public opinion. I also believe its all about making American mothers accept marijuana as it is; not evil, not a threat, not a source of chaos and disorder. It is a substance that can be used and abused. We need to be smart about making choices and deciding when to use and when not to, but we need to stop taking action in fear.

"For those who think life is unfair,
cause I blow my smoke in the air,
as if no one were standing there,
then I'll roll one tonight,
for your sorrows
"
 
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I was hoping that the pendulum would swing further before it started to go back.
Sigh.
A sad piece of news for lovers of freedom of consciousness.
 
Good times for the street dealer. What's really funny is they connect two problems that are not connected.

1. We have criminals of Moroccan descent from the big cities cruising the border freeways to look for drug tourists to get em to selling spots (called drug runners). They are known to drive really reckless and box in unsuspecting drug seekers to tell them to follow.

2. We have the big money makers in the cannabis trade. Lots of trailer park and real gypsie folk here. They have been immune from police for a long time because cops and politicians are scared of them. There is a municipality that does a pilot with legal coffeeshop supplying and the coffeeshop was bombed with a hand grenade and the mayor is un der 24-hour police protection. In Eindhoven there is a power stuggle going on with these guys, this is causing all the bad press. The Dutch are not really used to this excessive gun violence, especially outside of the Randstad region.

3. Of course there is a hidden layer of real estate owners that rent out their places for growing operations; these guys (almost) never get caught though because they rent their places out in constructions where they can claim they didn't know. Lot's of times these are rich people that got rich doing legal business but are greedy enough to want a piece of the weed money pie.

Basically we're fucked. Because they're trying to solve the first second problem by making a pass system, which obviously won't do anything except make problem 1 worse. AND for that matter make all of the problems worse.

Why don't people ask themselves why a cannashop that starts a pilot with legal supply get's bombed and the mayor of the municipality threatened. It's really drug war logic 101 and we're gonna make it worse by more repression. Our new government is retarded..

What's bad is that our liberal drug policy has to some extent actually made the problems worse. Because punishments for manufacture and trade of MJ are low and prodct can be legally evaluated at coffeeshops we became a major player in export of MJ. Theres lots of money to be made and that's why people are shooting eachother. Really showing us that decriminalizing is not the way to go, regulation is. We ought to regulate production and sales all the way, and punish harshly the people that grow for export. People seem to forget sometimes that Holland is a major transport hub so we will never get rid of some major black market trade in our country, unless we close the ports and start living in keeps.
 
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Theres lots of money to be made and that's why people are shooting eachother. Really showing us that decriminalization is not the way to go, regulation is.

Well said. And heartily seconded.
 
I'm glad I spent 2 weeks in Amsterdam last month before it was too late :)
 
Yeah, decriminalization is certainly a huge step above traditional prohibition - but it has nowhere near the benefits of regulation. Regulation largely nullifies the black market making it available to adults but more difficult for kids to get their hands on it. Studies show it's easier for a middle schooler to get pot and heroin than alcohol and cigarettes. Why? Because the sale of alcohol and tobacco is regulated.

After all, the Government always claims decriminalization/regulation is bad because kids will get the wrong message and choose to do those drugs because of it. A, this is bullshit. Kids don't give a fuck if they want to do a drug they will do it regardless of what the government has to say about it. B, regulation takes away the easy access for kids.
 
awwwwwwwww no way man. The netherlands was definitely on my future travel list - not solely for the coffee shops but those were a huge plus.
 
This is very disappointing to hear...completely illogical in my eyes. I am happy I visited when I did, although I really hope they do not pass this law. They will only be moving backwards and creating more crime.
 
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