Dutch government to ban tourists from cannabis shops

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Friday said it would start banning tourists from buying cannabis from "coffee shops" and impose restrictions on Dutch customers by the end of the year.

The Netherlands is well known for having one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies that has made its cannabis shops a popular tourist attraction, particularly in Amsterdam.

Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to curb drug tourism as part of a nationwide program to promote health and fight crime.

"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament on Friday.

Under the new rules, only Dutch residents will be able to sign up as members of cannabis shops.

Dutch customers will have to sign up for at least a year's membership and each shop would be expected to have only up to 1,500 members, a justice ministry spokesman said.

The policy will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year, the spokesman said.

Amsterdam, home to about 220 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in its red light district. Some officials have resisted the measures, saying they will push the soft drug trade underground.

Some Dutch border towns including Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners.

[SacRedMan]

Hier in België is het verboden voor welke drug dan ook te kopen of te nemen, dus in Nederland soft drugs legaliseren is ook niet goed vind ik. Dat leidt gewoon een drugsverslaafde op vind ik. Is er op het internet een filmpje waar ik het debat in de 2de Kamer over dit kan zien?

Dank bij voorbaat.

[CesareBorgia]

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Friday said it would start banning tourists from buying cannabis from "coffee shops" and impose restrictions on Dutch customers by the end of the year.

The Netherlands is well known for having one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies that has made its cannabis shops a popular tourist attraction, particularly in Amsterdam.

Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to curb drug tourism as part of a nationwide program to promote health and fight crime.

"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament on Friday.

Under the new rules, only Dutch residents will be able to sign up as members of cannabis shops.

Dutch customers will have to sign up for at least a year's membership and each shop would be expected to have only up to 1,500 members, a justice ministry spokesman said.

The policy will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year, the spokesman said.

Amsterdam, home to about 220 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in its red light district. Some officials have resisted the measures, saying they will push the soft drug trade underground.

Some Dutch border towns including Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners.

I like this part. The pro-drug lobby is strong at Reuters.

[Sir Comradical]

That's okay. I'm sure SacRedMan will hook me up with a bag.

[Sasha]

amsterdam city government is fighting this actually surprisingly though, being offcourse completly right in that this will cause an explosion in street pushers.
like the principal of the most prestigious high-school in amsterdam center said; "the coffeeshop nextdoor sells no harddrugs and checks IDs to let no -18 in, you think the streetdealers will too?"
the whole world is fast paced decriminalizing and holland is recriminalizing, the idiots

[SacRedMan]

That's okay. I'm sure SacRedMan will hook me up with a bag.

Wut? :confused:

[Sir Comradical]

Wut? :confused:

Ohh wait you're from Belgium. Make it chocolates then.

[Wanted Man]

I like this part. The pro-drug lobby is strong at Reuters.

The bold part is just the plain truth, nothing more and nothing less. Wilders puts on a very "liberal" face on certain issues, but he can't afford that when it comes to drugs. There are simply too many Wilders supporters near the southern border who also have this kneejerk reflex against drugs, who seem to think that these kinds of restrictions will keep out "drug tourism".

[Palestine]

Legalizing weed and drugs is the best way to fight them, think of it available drugs will not be expensive and the kid who is going to steal or kill the old lady to take her money to buy illegal drugs won't need to do that!

Legalize weed now!

[Rakhmetov]

Looks like the breakdown of capitalism is driving everyone insane even the progressive Dutch. I can't believe Dutch citizens elect these right-wingers so they can in turn create scapegoats to make them the blame for all the ills of society. It's a retake of reefer madness. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Die Rote Fahne]

If they do it, it's only time before they realize how wrong they were.

[Spawn of Stalin]

Legalizing weed and drugs is the best way to fight them, think of it available drugs will not be expensive and the kid who is going to steal or kill the old lady to take her money to buy illegal drugs won't need to do that!

Legalize weed now!
They wouldn't be as expensive after the mega corporations start selling them? after the government starts putting taxes on them? After vendors start charging even bigger markups than the street dealers do?

Right.

[Rakhmetov]

delete

[Rakhmetov]

Legalizing weed and drugs is the best way to fight them, think of it available drugs will not be expensive and the kid who is going to steal or kill the old lady to take her money to buy illegal drugs won't need to do that!

Legalize weed now!

Why would you want to fight the weed???

A gram is better than a damn. :tongue_smilie:

[a rebel]

The great Dutch weed prohibition. Like American alcohol prohibition, and we all know how that turned out.

[Die Rote Fahne]

They wouldn't be as expensive after the mega corporations start selling them? after the government starts putting taxes on them? After vendors start charging even bigger markups than the street dealers do?

Right.

It's actually true, the price for conumers would go down quite a bit.

[Spawn of Stalin]

How so? And is that just a prediction?