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 neighboring 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 legalize the whole chain of supply.
I can understand that. I mean if us stupid foreigners can't handle our weed and go over there to party and get wasted for a week it's not giving Holland the best name really. If you ask anyone whats the 1st thing that comes to mind when holland is mentioned its more than likely going to be prostitution and marijuana. Which is a shame as holland has some amazing sites! Of cause i think it will loose the country a lot of money tho. And i wonder how long it wiould take to obtain a MJ card?
This may be true for the countryside and outskirts of Amsterdam, but they will lose 3/4 of their profits if they stick to this... and that's something that will not be endorsed. Of course in the Centaal they will still sell to tourists, they will go bankrupt otherwise.
What about foreigners who aren't toursists? Seems a bit biased to me...there should be some test you have to take to prove you aren't a tourist. Maybe smoke a face spliff and see if you can handle it And yeah Cord, there are still numerous shops in this city that would definitely overlook this law just the same way as they ignore the tobacco rule.
that's kind of a bummer. but I'm sure it's kind of a nuisance having a bunch of people just go there for the sex and drugs. It would be nice if other nations would legalize so all the drug users wouldn't just flood into one place.
I found out the other day you can get to Amsterdam from the UK for £30 on a coach/train. This made me think about how much english is spoken in the city by visitors, does this frustrate the local people or do they accept it as part of tourism?
I dont think this will happen, they stand to lose too much revenue. And if they do stop tourists from smoking in the netherlands then somewhere else will just take its place. The czech republic is my odds on favourite. Or even better wales or scotland!
Damn that sucks I went to amsterdam this past summer and was planning on going again this summer when I went over for Study Abroad
I wonder whether they'd honor tourists with medical cannabis recommendations to frequent their clubs whilst visiting there.
I'd rather ride out to Cali than schlep all the way to Netherlands for some good easy herb. The sensible approach would be for each business to set its own policies, rather than have a bunch of religious authoritarian sociopaths tell them how to run their shops. I wonder who said the herb tourists are "pests" anyway. I doubt it was any of the myriad businesses who benefit from the increased traffic. "...and an alternative supply system via drugs runners is a source of nuisance." This sounds like bullshit. A handful of innocuous guys on bikes are a nuisance?
What the hell? There's no way if you're a tourist with cash, that you could walk into a cannabis shop and the guy behind the counter is going to say "I know we're in a economic depression, but I really don't want your money. Get out!". Do owners of cannabis shops really want to push away tourists who are responsible for at least half of the money they make, especially when the economy is shit? That's not a smart move for them.