[Stu]

UPDATE : People are telling me now it still has to go through government and is unlikely to ever get enough support to pass - and if it did it would take years. So who ****ing knows. The reports make it sound official though.

I may have rang a false alarm.

Cali > anyway. And Vancouver.


***




It's been discussed for years but looks like it's official now :

AMSTERDAM (BNO NEWS) -- In an effort to stop drug tourism, the Dutch government on Friday decided to restrict access to cannabis coffee shops so that tourists will no longer be able to buy the drugs.
Coffee shops are establishments in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. As this is illegal in most countries, many tourists from around the world travel to Amsterdam to use cannabis.

But in an effort to reduce criminal behavior and tourism as a result of the drug policy, the Dutch government on Friday decided to introduce a membership system for coffee shops. The city of Amsterdam, where most tourists go, is against the decision

The new system will require members of coffee shops to be a citizen of the Netherlands and over the age of 18. "The coalition agreement says that the current open door policy of coffee shops should be stopped and that the fight against organized drug crime should be intensified," the Dutch cabinet said in a statement.

The new laws will require coffee shops to become closed clubs for the local market, meaning that only Dutch citizens will be allowed access if they are able to show a valid ID and have a membership of the coffee shop in question.

The membership will be in the form of a club card which can be provided by coffee shop owners if those who want to be a customer can produce a valid ID and proof that he or she lives in the Netherlands. The membership will be for a period of at least a year, but coffee shops will be restricted in the number of club cards they can issue.

"The desired small scale will be achieved by the cabinet by capping the number of members of coffee shops. What the exact maximum number of members per coffee shop is will be determined at a later moment," the cabinet said. "The mayor can under local circumstances impose a lower number of maximum members."

The European Court of Justice previously said the new laws to deny access to foreigners is not in violation of European law. A court case against the new measures is still pending at the Netherlands' Council of State, but the government does not expect this to be a problem.

"The cabinet expects that the closure of coffee shops to foreign drug tourists will result in that they no longer travel to the Netherlands for the sale and consumption of cannabis," the cabinet said in the statement. "After all, for many of them applies that they can use the existing illegal market in their own country. Nevertheless will the possible side effects of these measures be monitored closely and adequately addressed by the police, judiciary, and administration."

Additionally, the Dutch government also decided on Friday that coffee shops will not be allowed within 350 meters (1,100 feet) of schools. This measure is aimed to stop students from visiting the coffee shops.

http://wireupdate.com/wires/17731/ne...s-to-tourists/

That's it. Move backwards. Good Christian Democratic party!

[Shaun]

[InOne]

Good god I've passed chances to go before as well -hits self-

[Locke.]

From when?

My mate has already booked his plane and hotel for August

[Novo]

Big drop in tourists over there then

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Locke.

From when?

My mate has already booked his plane and hotel for August

They haven't said yet but I would assume it would take a good few months before the bill is acted upon.

California's the place to be now anyway. Still this is all sorts of retarded. Pot is hardly the problem drug with 'drug tourism'. How is slouching in a seat in some coffee shop and practically acting as a mint for the Dutch government to print money a bad thing?

As for the border violence they would never have had the trouble had they the balls to fully regulate the supply of Cannabis instead of having this 'lalala it's not happening so we won't arrest you!' policy of tolerance.

The production of it is still illegal so the coffee shops have to source it from cladestine growers who in an uncontrolled market are - gasp - criminals who are willing to kill each other for profit.

No wai!

[Omah]

Slecht nieuws, man .....

[Ramsay]

well thats aload of horse****

[Stu]

People are telling me now it still has to go through government and is unlikely to ever get enough support to pass - and if it did it would take years. So who ****ing knows. The reports make it sound official though.

I may have rang a false alarm.

Cali > anyway. And Vancouver.

[Ramsay]

ive been hearing all those reports for years now so ill believe it when i see it

[Stu]

It would only leave one thing worth going over to the 'Dam for.

























The Anne Frank museum, yo!

[Patrick]

I just told my Aunt and she's now in a really...really...really bad mood.


I imagine if does get passed - it wont stay too long, they'll realize how empty the country is in terms of tourism and will go back on this by about 2012..maybe 2013.

[InOne]

We'll have to make a TiBB trip over before it happens

[Stu]

Originally Posted by InOne

We'll have to make a TiBB trip over before it happens

**** that jazz. Just come to mine in eight weeks.

[InOne]

Originally Posted by Stu

**** that jazz. Just come to mine in eight weeks.

sounds like a plan

[Shaun]

-shouts down the phone- FIRST CLASS TO CORK, NOT COCK

[ElProximo]

I hate that country a little bit less today. At least that is some progress. Now if they can just do something about the *****s and Turkish pimps. Oh and the prick attitude.
However,
this is a forward step.

[ElProximo]

Dbl post. carry on.

[Shaun]

-sits back and watches the sparks fly-

[Stu]

HELLO SAILOR!

The Turkish. Great bunch of lads.

[Harry!]

I don't do any drugs but I think this is a bad idea as it is good for the economy and also attracts visitors to the city. I think laws should be a tiny bit relaxed sometimes.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

harry knows his ****

[Stu]

And that's some good ****.

Also Dutch kids are far less likely to try hard drugs as a result of them having easy access to soft drugs. Something like one in a thousand Dutch kids will try Heroin versus one in sixty here in Ireland.

And drug overdoses per capita in the USA is something like 38 million per annum verses 1.2 in The Netherlands.

[Conor]

^^ Same kinda system in Greece. No legal drinking limit. Barely any young Greek people drink and when they do it isn't very much. A lot more fancy coffees are sold in the fancy nightclubs in Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion than alcohol. Although this could be a slight blow for the economy in the Netherlands, there isn't going to be any major collapse in tourism. Plenty more to see and do there. If anything there will be a lot less of our chavs hanging about in Amsterdam = SUCCESS. I doubt the law will be passed though. It would b a pity if it was. The Netherlands is iconic for its coffee shops.

[Stu]

It would see a huge drop in tourists. I know it's still a fantastic city, really awesome, but without the coffee shops it looses it's one big appeal and has to compete with other cities like Prague, Dublin, Berlin etc as being really overpriced tourist hotspots.

Whatever happens in Dutchland the rest of the world is moving the other way anyway. The Netherlands is only famous because of the coffee shops. The laws in places like Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic are far more liberal. It's actually properly decriminalized in those countries.

Every drug is decriminalized for personal posession in the Czech Republic, right down to the amounts. It's actually written into the law that you can carry up to five individual sheets of acid. Crazy stuff.