[treehuggers]

Published: 9 September 2009 10:27

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.

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.


https://www.nrc.nl/international/arti...g_coffee_shops

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13.09.2009

Two of the city completely stop selling

Mayors of two border city of the south Bergen-op-Zom and Rosendal, where the 25,000 tourists coming week due to drugs, especially the Belgians and French, decided to completely stop the sale of cannabis in their eight stores. The decision was made in October 2008. and shall come into force on Wednesday. The controversial measure has caused great debate in the Netherlands about what the results of the Dutch model of tolerance for light drugs.



Information campaigns

Mayors of cities explained that must stop the constant influx of foreign vehicles, hundreds of young people gathering in front of the cafe on weekends and the emergence of illegal vendors on the streets of their cities. Owners of shops have complained because of this decision and sought to abolish it. The court will decide on the appeal on Tuesday. In the meantime, the city government organized a campaign of information over the Internet.



More police officers on the streets

The short films will be shown before the main screening in cinemas, which announce cease selling drugs in their areas. Police will step up from Wednesday presence on the streets to prevent possible occurrence of street drug dealers who would offer drug tourists when they could not get in pubs. Belgian police officers who speak French will come to help their Dutch colleagues.


Translated via googletranslate from https://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...e-2569-xml-mrs

[SpacedCWBY]

Yeah, ok... So basically what they want is people selling weed in the shadows with their little whispers and whistles like they do with cocaine and everything else that's not tolerated. It will end up creating a new black market. Even with the three g's a day limit you could still turn some profit. Get a few buddies together during lunch one day, buy a zip and sell it to the tourists.

Not trying to say that the coffeeshops are the backbone of the netherland's economy, but Amsterdam businesses would definitely feel the hit if they were to do something like that. I'm sure they'd survive but at the same time why take the loss in the first place. Kinda silly - probably trying to keep some UN drug czar dipshit happy.

[treehuggers]

Sorry I scared you


News in brief

***The Netherlands: Coffee shops
On 15 September a Dutch judge rejected an application by six
coffee shops from two southern towns against their mayors' plans
to stop them selling cannabis. The case had been brought before
the wrong court, said the judge. The mayors of Roosendaal and
Bergen-op-Zoom, both near the border with Belgium, announced
last year that all eight coffee shops in their borders would be
banned from selling cannabis from 16 September on to reduce the
number of cannabis-smoking tourists. (Source: Traveller of 16
September 2009)

[JamieShoes]

oh boy, the growers are gonna make a FORTUNE!

(cuz if anyone thinks for a second that just cuz the shop wont sell it to you that no one else will, they is barking mad )

[chef]

If they think 30 years of tolerance is bad? look what over 30 years of prohibition gets you...

The Juarez Border! lol

[j6p]

Amsterdam coffeeshops are still happily selling gram after gram of nugs and hash to international tourists. They will continue to conduct business as usual for the forseeable future. The Amsterdam city council and Mayor Cohen support the coffeeshops, and consider them to be appropriate businesses for promotion of international tourism in Amsterdam. The city is in full compliance with the recent Dutch coffeeshop amendments.

Amsterdam's Mayor and city council chose to continue the original coffeeshop model, which allows cannabis sales to all nationalities. Like other municipalities, Amsterdam selects its own coffeeshop option.

The new "Dutch Only" coffeeshop model is OPTIONAL, and available to those locations which want it. The OPTIONAL "Dutch Only" plan was provided to accommodate some small border towns who were repeatedly invaded by swarms of Belgian and German hooligans. Several border towns closed their coffeehouses as a result.

Originally Posted by Amsterdam Local Travel Advisors
Will Amsterdam cannabis cafes soon be a thing of the past? Is the end of the coffeeshops in Amsterdam near? Hundreds of visitors planning their trip to Amsterdam ask us this question.
Don't worry. Amsterdam cannabis cafes, more correctly known as coffeeshops where you can legally buy the famous Amsterdam weed, are not going anywhere in a hurry. (You can find the best in our Amsterdam coffee shop reviews, and locate them quickly through our Amsterdam coffee shop map.)
https://www.amsterdam-advisor.com/ams...bis-cafes.html

Originally Posted by Amsterdam Local Travel Advisors
Some Dutch coffeeshops operating in towns close to the Netherlands' borders have been closed down in an effort to prevent 'drug tourism' from neighboring Belgium and Germany. Many local governments operate a zero policy on cannabis cafes, meaning that in lots of towns none opened in the first place.
But the Amsterdam coffeeshop scene faces little threat from this phenomenon. Being located far from the borders of other countries, as well as being a major metropolitan city, with appropriately more liberal attitudes, means that Amsterdam cannabis cafes are not affected by this in the foreseeable future.
https://www.amsterdam-advisor.com/ams...bis-cafes.html

[THC123]

this was a law proposal , it hasn't yet been approved and i don't think it will be approved , the dutch know damn well that tourist don't only buy hash and weed but also they eat , drink and maybe buy other stuff like clothes etc

The coffee shops in some border towns are closed now. Along the Belgium and German borders. It is the towns people that are pushing for this in some areas. The German government is also complaining about the cross border grow ops. They have to grow all that weed some where........and the bordering countries are complaining.

I think that after the the traffic at the borders slows all this will quiet down for a while.

V

Amsterdam is a place of non stop shops.
The Cannabis tourism is good but for a middle age fellow like myself I am thrilled to have had the experience of Adult Play Time!
Sure I did all the tourist stuff.. It's fun! But too I did the Adult stuff and they were fun too.

I'd guess I'd say the only bummer for a first time, single middle age man visitor to Amsterdam was the lack of live music venues. I know I should accept the current music atmosphere because I am visiting but I am familiar with other music and it was a bummer not to feel at home musically once in 10 days stay,

Anyway I'd suggest the Dutch people keep their identity but make Amsterdam an International Zone and surrender to the Adult Disney Land trade!


I loved it all, I did all I could and I spent a huge amount of cash there. I would have liked to enjoy more of the "Spirit" of "Partying"

[daddy fingaz]

Originally Posted by treehuggers

Published: 9 September 2009 10:27

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.

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 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.

The problem is not the Dutch tolerance but its neighbours lack of!!

at least the Dutch Labour party have the right idea, a far cry from the UK's Labour government!

Originally Posted by SpacedCWBY

Yeah, ok... So basically what they want is people selling weed in the shadows with their little whispers and whistles like they do with cocaine and everything else that's not tolerated. It will end up creating a new black market. Even with the three g's a day limit you could still turn some profit. Get a few buddies together during lunch one day, buy a zip and sell it to the tourists.

Not trying to say that the coffeeshops are the backbone of the netherland's economy, but Amsterdam businesses would definitely feel the hit if they were to do something like that. I'm sure they'd survive but at the same time why take the loss in the first place. Kinda silly - probably trying to keep some UN drug czar dipshit happy.

quite true SpacedCWBY expect for these guys dont actually sell any cocaine!