cannabisnews.com: Town Hopes To Weed Out Drug Dealers Town Hopes To Weed Out Drug Dealers Posted by FoM on May 26, 2001 at 16:02:02 PT Times of London Source: Edmonton Journal From behind a row of giant multicoloured bongs (hashish pipes), the pony-tailed man in the Bob Marley T-shirt produced a block of dark brown cannabis resin and said it would cost 50 marks ($35 Cdn) for five grams. "We can give you hashish, weed, whatever. Just don't tell the cops," he added, smiling. Freeshop Sky is one of an estimated 65 shops, backrooms and bars illegally selling drugs in Venlo, a small Dutch town a mile from the border with Germany where the trade of cannabis is just as often conducted in kilograms as grams. The illegal drugs industry has grown so rapidly since regular border checks were abandoned in the mid-'90s that the local council is considering a desperate plan: it hopes to clear the trade out of the town centre by licensing the world's first drive-through marijuana bars on the outskirts of Venlo. The plan, which Venlo's mayor and 30 aldermen will vote on next Wednesday, has been welcomed in the town, where residents feel unnerved by the presence of about 300 illegal drug dealers on the streets. In some roads, up to 80 per cent of houses are thought to be in the hands of dealers, including Maaskade, where Freeshop Sky, next to the B-1 Sex Shop and Sex Shop Climax, is one of a number of souvenir boutiques and cafes suspected of selling drugs illegally. "This is a small town and drugs have taken over here," Ria, a pensioner who has lived in Venlo all her life, said. She pointed to a boarded-up shop off the town's busy main square: "In this building they had jewelry in the window and that is what they claimed to sell, but they were really dealing drugs." The drive-through idea is proof that Venlo, where so far this year police have boarded up 24 houses where cannabis was being sold, is losing the battle against drugs. The plan has provoked a hostile reaction from the German town of Viersen, just 25 km away, while officials in the Dutch Ministry of Health have given a warning that it could undermine their efforts to promote careful drug use. The Dutch press, meanwhile, has come up with its own name for the new-look marijuana bars: "McDope." About 500 German tourists travel every day to Venlo to take advantage of Dutch laws allowing up to five grams of cannabis to be sold in the town's five licensed "coffee shops." Although the drive-through coffee shops are just one option, if the council endorses the plan the process of awarding licences will begin almost immediately and they could be open by the end of the year.Complete Title: Town Hopes To Weed Out Drug Dealers with Drive-Through 'McDope' StoresSource: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)Published: May 26, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Edmonton JournalContact: letters thejournal.southam.caWebsite: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Related Articles:Dutch Drugs Pick Up Speed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9573.shtmlDutch Look To Drive-Thru Drug Shopshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9566.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on May 27, 2001 at 07:20:03 PT Compare to the US model Compare the Dutch approach to that taken in DEA-land, as witnessed by the latest dope bust in the article below. And consider that if this family lived within driving distance of Venlo, none of this would have happened... Raid Nets Officer's Three Sons [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by ghhskslskd on May 27, 2001 at 07:19:12 PT mcdope that last comment by cuzn buzz was very funnyi think the reporter missed the point: the reason the town has been taken over by drug dealers is because the towns on the other side of the adjacent border don't have their own coffee shopsits a good cautionary tale for north america: if canada legalizes cannabis and allows coffee shop sales then the americans will go nuts trying to get up here....the border will be choked with canadians going south for cheap gas/food/clothes and americans going north to taste freedom [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Cuzn Buzz on May 26, 2001 at 22:03:35 PT Oh my! Oh my!Oh my goodness!!Oh my ears and whiskers!!! Did this reporter tumble to the floor whilst penning this slanted piece? Unsavory Weed Merchants!!! Wearing Bob Marley Tee-shirts!!! And right near Aunt Helgas Leather and Lace Boutique...mercyfull heavens...the Vicar might not feel comfortable on his way to Madame Schnitzelefrau's house of blue lights.Ahem. The Dutch way is to be indulgent of the choices people wish to make where they do not infringe on the rights of others. Weed Merchants are no threat to the public, and even those gasped about in this story do not sell to children, and do business in a business-like manner. This subtle alarmist piece wishes to foster the "Dark Alley" view of Weed Merchants in Venlo. McDope huh? Hey!!! Wassamatta for you? You no like it the Mom and Pop places? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: