Dutch government wants to implement "members only" policy for coffee shops

[~*geNeRaTiOn E*~]

Tourists no longer welcome in cannabis-selling coffee shops

Published: 9 September 2009 10:27 | Changed: 9 September 2009 17:04
By our news staff

The Dutch government wants to maintain its tolerant policy towards cannabis and keep so-called coffee shops open, but they should no longer be tourist attractions, Dutch ministers wrote in a letter that was leaked to the press on Tuesday.

* Editorial - Members-only cannabis club won't pass the test
* News - Committee wants coffee shops to cater to locals only
* Discussion - Which way forward for Dutch tolerance on drugs?

The ministers of justice, home affairs and health wrote that reducing the number of coffee shops and keeping foreigners out should make it easier to reduce crime and other nuisances the coffee shops are now causing.

A government memorandum on altering the coffee shop policy and other drug-related issues is expected this fall, but the letter already shows where the ministers now stand. They want to implement a members-only system to keep tourists out. Herds of tourist who buy their drugs in border towns near Belgium and Germany have become a pest in several places and neighbouring countries have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Dutch system.

The Netherlands has been tolerant about the use and sale of weed and hash for three decades. Cultivation and wholesale of the drug are prohibited however. This discrepancy has become known as the 'gedoogbeleid' (tolerance policy).

An advisory committee said in July that the policy has gotten out of control in the past 15 years and needs to go back to small, private shops for local users. It advised against legalising soft drugs altogether.

The ministers want municipalities to implement a members-only system, where members can by up to three grammes of hash or weed each with their (Dutch) bank card. This should make it less appealing for tourists to travel to the Netherlands to buy cannabis. The ministers will also allow experiments where coffeeshops can have larger quantities of drugs stocked. Currently, a coffeeshop can have 500 grammes in store and an alternative supply system via drugs runners is a source of nuisance.

The three coalition parties in the government have long disagreed about the overhaul of the drug policy. Christian democrat CDA had called for an end to the tolerance policy and the orthodox Christian ChristenUnie agreed, but the Labour party PvdA believes banning coffeeshops will not solve the problems of crime, nuisance and health and wants to legalise the whole chain of supply.


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[stirfry]

hmm, it seems to me that such a policy would be a huge hit to the tourism industry. I don't know much about the Netherlands, but local/state governments generally are protective of their tourist industry, i would expect lots of opposition to this.

plus, prohibition always leads to increased crime. I thought that was a lesson that the Dutch already learned. I do have sympathy for the local populace though, it sucks living in a place overrun with tourists, i have lived in one my whole life.

 

[Hot Dog Of Doom]

This seems like it would just lead to some sort of underground industry that gets the weed from the coffee shops to tourists, and make a whole new business for organized crime.

 

[MaxDosage]

I cant see this getting passed . The dutch know what side their breads buttered on , drug tourism is a huge industry there. I know I wont be going if its just to look at some windmills and old bridges.

You hear me Holland !?! You do that I wont visit !

 

[Somewhat-damaged]

Wasn't the whole idea of legalizing it in coffee shops to reduce the crime revolving around such a soft drug?

This will hit their tourism industry hard and leave tourists trying to score in shifty lane ways in the country they traveled to so they could be able to smoke in public places. Who doesn't want that?

 

[drug_mentor]

They are really shooting themselves in the foot with this one, its going to kill alot of their tourism. What crimes do they think foreigners getting blazed as fuck on strong weed in coffee shops are committing? Really!

 

[static_mind]

Have you been to Amsterdam? You can't walk 50m down the street without someone coming up and offering cocaine, ice and XTC. While in Europe I stayed in Paris, Edinburgh, London, Dublin and Amersterdam and it was the only place I didn't feel safe walking down the street at night. Walking around I was often followed and when approaching the end of an ally several times someone would step out in front and block my path.

All this people were only intrested in trying to sell me mostly coke but its really unnerving.

 

[Wave Jumper]

Hup Hup Hypocrisy

Everyone involved, who's not leaving with his head in the clouds, knew this was gonna happen sooner or later...

It really bugs me when you hear idiots speculating 'bout legalization 8)

Anyway, they can shove their coffeeshops up their ass, as far as I'm concerned. They are really milking it nowadays! Prices have become ridiculously "high" and if you visit a shop in the border area, they always treat you like a drugtourist and very oftenly act in an unfriendly manner, eventhough those tourists are in fact paying for the wages of all those losers and lowlifes working in those shops.

I guess it's obvious what one should do...

By the way: I can confirm what static mind is saying...So I guess in the future those street hustllers will be able to expand their market and make money selling pot to tourists...This is what happens when you let someone in charge (i.c. Balkenende) who looks and acts like he lost his virginity at the age of 50. ;-)

 

[Arnold]

Have you been to Amsterdam? You can't walk 50m down the street without someone coming up and offering cocaine, ice and XTC. While in Europe I stayed in Paris, Edinburgh, London, Dublin and Amersterdam and it was the only place I didn't feel safe walking down the street at night. Walking around I was often followed and when approaching the end of an ally several times someone would step out in front and block my path.

All this people were only intrested in trying to sell me mostly coke but its really unnerving.

That's what most don't seem to understand, it's the associated drugs trade that is the problem , not weed and the coffee shops.

THE HAGUE — Six cannabis-vending coffee shops from two southern Dutch towns argued before a judge on Friday against plans by mayors to stop them selling soft drugs from next week.

The mayors of Roosendaal and Bergen-op-Zoom, both near the border with Belgium, announced the step in March in a bid to ward off some 25,000 marijuana-smoking tourists who flood their communities every week.

The towns' eight coffee shops, of which two are not part of the court challenge, were ordered to stop selling marijuana from next Wednesday, but were given permission to remain in operation as ordinary bars.

The coffee shops had no avenue of appealing the mayors' decision, whose violation would mean a five-year forced closure.

They asked a civil judge on Friday to give an order preventing their closure in case they are held in violation of the mayors' order.

"If the coffee shops continue to sell soft drugs after Wednesday (and are closed down as punishment), this way they will at least have a chance to challenge their closure before an administrative judge," their lawyer Harry Nieland told AFP.

"The coffee shops must not be closed."

Bart Roozendaal, a lawyer for the mayors, said their move had been "very well motivated, the research was done thoroughly, and there is no question of an unjustified decision."

Judgement will be handed down on Tuesday.

The consumption and possession of small amounts of cannabis has been decriminalised in The Netherlands since 1976, as is its sale in licensed coffee shops. But its mass cultivation and large-scale sale is forbidden.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gpRxL1tvtCWrCB3YOO6aQMOxS2oQ

 

[Wave Jumper]

That's what most don't seem to understand, it's the associated drugs trade that is the problem , not weed and the coffee shops.

What drugs do you associate with weed? I hope you're not thinking about tobacco

No, seriously, I can honestly understand that coffeeshop are causing some inconvenience, especially in the border area, but the way they are adressing the problem is obviously completely wrong. I personally believe that there wouldn't be so many troubles if there was a culture of pure weed smoking in Europe. Coffeeshops should promote the consumption of pure weed instead of trying to get us hooked to their filty joints...

 

[Huaca]

The ministers want municipalities to implement a members-only system, where members can by up to three grammes of hash or weed each with their (Dutch) bank card.

A convenient way for the authorities to collect the names of those purchasing drugs.

...but the Labour party PvdA believes banning coffeeshops will not solve the problems of crime, nuisance and health and wants to legalise the whole chain of supply.

This idea is better.