Up in smoke! Dutch to ban tourists from buying pot

spini4

spini4

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The Dutch government said on Wednesday it wanted to ban tourists from buying cannabis in "coffee shops," where hash is on sale legally, as part of a national crackdown on drug use.

The Netherlands has one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies and its coffee shops are a popular tourist attraction, especially in Amsterdam and border cities near Belgium and Germany.

But some cities near the border with Belgium have clamped down on drug tourism, and the Dutch minister for security and justice confirmed on Wednesday a wider crackdown after coalition parties agreed to push for a ban in September.

The government, which took office last month, has agreed to limit the sale of cannabis to Dutch residents to curb crime linked to its production and trading.

"No tourist attractions. We don't like that," the minister, Ivo Opstelten, told public broadcaster NOS on Wednesday.

"The heart of the problem is crime and disturbances surrounding the sale. We have to go back to what it was meant for: local use for those who would like it."

Amsterdam, home to 223 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in the red light district to tackle criminal activity in the area, and was studying the government proposal.

"We are taking the current practice as a starting point. It is not perfect but in many ways we have a functioning coffee shop system," an Amsterdam city spokesman said.

The government's plans for a tourist ban, whereby only holders of a resident's pass would be allowed to buy hash, has not yet been formally put into law and no timeframe has been proposed.

The possession of up to 5 grams (0.18 oz) of cannabis or hash is allowed in the Netherlands but large-scale production and transport is a crime.

continued at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40238429/ns/travel-news/
 
I don't see anything in that article that talks about the red-light district closing down.
 
Amsterdam, home to 223 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in the red light district to tackle criminal activity in the area, and was studying the government proposal.
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ok, so they are only closing some of it, but still, that was my fav part of amsterdam
 
Odd..

I don't have the greatest memory in the world but I could of SWORN that they banned tourists from coffee shops years ago.

Did they ban tourists and then lift the ban? I'm positive I've heard of this before.. They have at very least threatened this before.
 
Its funny cause i stayed in the red light district on holiday recently and i can say without a shadow of a doubt it is safer then 99% of the united states. why? cause everyone is chilled out. the whole time i didnt even see spew in the streets once!

this article fails to mention that they are proposing to legitimize the grow and delivery network allowing shops to grow 5 plants for each of its members. this is a much more important point IMO.

PS. and unlike in american where whatever the drug czar or nominated research organisation said goes, they are trialing different approaches around the country. hence no time-frame on the ban. plus the ban is still going through the appeal process in the EU court, cause you cant legalled stop trade with other EU member nations.
 
yes, make it illegal for tourists to buy something that any local can walk into one of 223 coffee shops and buy, and make it illegal for locals to sell that thing to tourists. that is SURE to reduce the crime rate.
 
^ the theory is that tourists visiting the Netherlands solely for pot will stop going there. Why go somewhere to buy pot illegally when it is perfectly easy and simple to get it illegally anywhere else.
 
caseface99 said:
^ the theory is that tourists visiting the Netherlands solely for pot will stop going there. Why go somewhere to buy pot illegally when it is perfectly easy and simple to get it illegally anywhere else.
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because the quality in holland is superior and its cheaper:\
 
^yes, clearly this is aimed at preventing the people who fly in from other continents and not the hooligans who drive in for the weekend.
 
pofacedhoe said:
because the quality in holland is superior and its cheaper:\
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Not really cheaper in the coffee shops it is fucking expensive. The selection and quality is the same as a upscale american dispensary.

That totally sucks though, im sure this will not stop the drug tourism, maybe slow it down a little but things will pick back up again
 
villian said:
Odd..

I don't have the greatest memory in the world but I could of SWORN that they banned tourists from coffee shops years ago.

Did they ban tourists and then lift the ban? I'm positive I've heard of this before.. They have at very least threatened this before.
Click to expand...

I've been hearing this for years and years.... we're going to stop letting tourists come to our country and spend millions upon millions of euros on pot.. yeah right :)
 
Loads of tourists hit het Nederlands for the red light and the weed, plane loads of them from all over the world, every week. The red lights are available elsewhere anyway, its only the walletjes that are being tidied up. To be honest the RLD was a haven of criminality at one time but the last time I went to Amsterdam it had completely changed and had been tidied up.

I do know that not many Dutch people smoke the szhticky, and when they travel abroad it pisses them off that they are only ever remembered as the country where you can smoke the szhticky and for the red lights. It is a little embarrassing or so they tell me. I always like to remind them at this point of their role as the european hub of ecstasy manufacture and distribution, god damn fine ecstasy. Youve gotta be good at something, why not having the highest quallity drugs in Europe http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cf...egory=w104&stat_type=w87&order=stat_reference

Whether the Dutch can pull off discriminating against EU citizens, Im not so sure if thats possible. The EU has effectively no borders its a free trade area, but I guess only when it suits politicians.

As I understand it prior to the coffee shops you would have to buy your weed off shady guys down dark alleys, and the coffee shops reduced the criminality, youll still be able to get weed easily, just locals will sell it at a mark-up.

And please dont be rude about the Dutch, its not everyones god given right to view Amsterdam as their their own personal grow room, its their country, if they want to stop getting the tourism revenue thats their call, we've benefited for long enough.
 
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