cannabisnews.com: Tourist-Free Coffee Shops Rejected Tourist-Free Coffee Shops Rejected Posted by CN Staff on October 23, 2003 at 09:02:10 PT News Story Source: Expatica.com Amsterdam — Municipalities and coffee shop owners have strongly rejected Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner's proposal to prevent drug tourism by only allowing Dutch residents to visit the nation's infamous cannabis cafes. The conservative Christian Democrat CDA minister said marijuana sales could in future be restricted by the introduction of a pass card or membership system. This would assist in hindering cross-border drug tourism, he said. The minister said coffee shop customers might also be required to show their passports, but he did not intend to introduce the system himself. It will be up to municipalities and coffee shops to launch such a system, Dutch associated press ANP reported. But coffee shop union BCD said the plan was "worthless". A union spokesman said a membership system would cause a lot of street troubles: "Dealers in hard drugs will take the trade over". The Venlo Council shared the union's concerns, claiming that it would result in an explosive increase in the illegal trade of drugs runners. The city council said it wished to speak with the minister about the consequences of his plan as soon as possible. Venlo, located in the east of the country on the German border, has five officially tolerated coffee shops and an unknown number of illegal shops. It is also planning to establish two shops nearer to the German border to reduce the nuisance factor for city centre residents. The BCD also said coffee shops in Amsterdam and the border areas were not dependent upon foreigners. "Even in the summer months, 70 percent of my clients are Dutch," said a spokesman from a coffee shop on Amsterdam's Oudezijds Voorburgwal. The Enschede Council said it did not wish to comment prematurely, while the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) said it wanted to wait for definite plans before assessing reactions from its member councils. Minister Donner launched his coffee shop proposal in Berlin on Wednesday amid great pressure from German Interior Minister Otto Schily, who strongly criticised Dutch efforts in the war against drugs. The Netherlands' toleration of soft drugs has long been a bane for its foreign neighbours. The minister was visiting his German counterpart to discuss drugs problems, border operations and co-operation in the war against terrorism, an NOS news report said. Meanwhile, the minister also said that a treaty should be signed regulating police operation in border areas to allow German or Dutch police officers to operate across the border in emergencies. The treaty would also allow police to operate across the border in more run-of-the-mill occasions, such as football matches. To combat the drugs trade between Amsterdam, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname, the minister said he intended to intensify "risk flight" inspections at airports in the Antilles and Suriname. If drugs are regularly intercepted, the flights might be scrapped, he warned. The Netherlands set up several emergencies jails last year to cope with an alarming increase in drug smuggling arrests on flights arriving from the Antilles. The smugglers usually transport the drugs by swallowing them first. Source: Expatica.com (Netherlands)Published: October 23, 2003Copyright: 2003 Expatica News Contact: feedback expatica.comWebsite: http://www.expatica.com/index.aspRelated Articles:Dutch Ban on Smoking Hits Pot Businesses http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16428.shtmlDutch Marijuana Joints Take Hit from Smoking Ban http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16427.shtmlDutch Celebrate 30 Years of Legal Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14861.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by WolfgangWylde on October 24, 2003 at 15:55:06 PT The minister is all bark, and no bite "The minister said coffee shop customers might also be required to show their passports, but he did not intend to introduce the system himself."Uh...that would be because he has no authority. Coffeeshops are under local control of the municipalities in which they reside. The central government is powerless in this regard. What an idiot. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by ekim on October 23, 2003 at 19:05:12 PT gee someone show the Wall to Minister Otto Schily i watched the wall come down --read how person spied on person--the people will have to vote on this. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Marc Paquette on October 23, 2003 at 15:19:03 PT: Looks like exterior interference! I wonder who funds that CDA political party in Holland? If it's not the Dutch People..then who is it? Could they be the same that tries to order the world? When will the DEA decide to stay in US and in US only?Peace,Marc [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by darwin on October 23, 2003 at 10:38:23 PT Never happen Amsterdam's economy would shrink severly without the "drug tourists" They know this and their business community won't allow it. Restaurants, hotels, the art industry, the red light district, etc. would suffer and their unemployment would skyrocket, causing more people to turn to drugs in dispair. Amsterdam just wants to appear to be against the drugs to appease the pressure from other countries. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by BigDawg on October 23, 2003 at 09:56:57 PT GGGGGGG Have they not learned that the ONLY way to reduce REAL crime associated with Cannabis is to eliminate the prohibition... not find ways to increase prohibition?OK, so neighboring gov't don't like their citizens going on drug vacations... maybe they should consider doing away with passports and stop travel all together. I mean, hey... if they think it is THAT big of a deal.And if they think there is a cross border illegal drug trade now... just let em see what happens when they tighten the laws. Street prices will go up... driving profits up... driving the illegal trade up... along with the violence that goes with it.Will we EVER learn? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment