Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forums

We whine & bitch just as much.

Everyone needs a good whine and bitch about something every once in a while, if not the world would be full of people going postal.

lol.... treu.... i just noticed it a lot more since i've been back.

I was in Amsterdam 3 weeks ago, and heard nothing about this. So when a friend mentioned it last night I came straight here for news.

Thanks Boner - you've eased my mind!

Cannabis cafes (coffee shops) to become member only clubs in 2012

Check out the Dutch Governments Budget 2012. Look under the Security and justice section...

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2 ... points.php

nice bit of sunday afternoon reading....nice to know no passes or codes will be needed for november17th as the thoughts of having to remember all that shit would be overwhelming to my fragile little old mind....

thats why there are smartphones

Fresh bad news?

L'accès aux coffee shops du sud des Pays-Bas sera réservé à partir du 1er janvier aux seuls habitants du pays, une mesure destinée à éradiquer les nuisances liées au tourisme de la drogue, a-t-on appris mardi auprès du ministère néerlandais de la Justice.
"La mesure entrera en vigueur pour les provinces du Limbourg, Brabant-Nord et Zélande, les provinces les plus touchées par le tourisme de la drogue, le 1er janvier", a déclaré à l'AFP Charlotte Menten, une porte-parole du ministère de la Justice.

Cette mesure, qui fait partie du programme du gouvernement de centre-droite du Premier ministre libéral Mark Rutte présenté en septembre 2010, entrera en vigueur au 1er janvier 2013 dans le reste des Pays-Bas, a poursuivi la porte-parole.

http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1505/Monde/a ... vier.dhtml

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Tou ... story.html

The centre-right government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte has since September 2010 been weighing a "cannabis card", reserved for nationals and obligatory when visiting one of the country's 670 licenced coffee shops.

"The measure will come into force for the (southern) provinces of Limburg, North-Brabant and Zeeland, the provinces most affected by drug tourism, on January 1," justice ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Menten told AFP.

Under the new policy, which some have warned could drastically curb tourism revenues, licenced coffee shops will be considered private clubs with a maximum of 2,000 members limited to Dutch residents who are older than 18.

Menten said the measures would come into force in the rest of the country in January 2013.

Not sure if anyone has already posted this.
Article on situation in Maastricht (in Dutch): http://www.coffeeshopbond.nl/nieuws&dis ... ls&id=1510.
It seems that some of the tourist shops will be moved out of town. This should relieve the parking and traffic problems. Parking is a big issue in towns close to the Belgian and German borders. I guess most tourists in Amsterdam arrive by plane and train so it's not a problem there.

It seems to me that only the border towns will remain affected by this political imperative.

The mayoralty of Amsterdam will certainly never agree to such income reducing bylaws that will directly effect a lot of the tourist trade in the region, and the Mayors seem to be getting the ultimate decision in their localities.

Lets just hope this new Government can come to an agreement that the wietpass is no good. At the moment things can go either way. So lets just keep our fingers and toes crossed.

Hot of the press....from the grey area themselves

http://www.facebook.com/notes/grey-area ... 3749690441


sounds like good news to me when all is said and done.

seems to mean.....nothing changes for us city slickers!!

i just read this and it sounded encouraging for AMS...

http://seattletimes.com/html/travel/201 ... ana30.html

No national ban on tourists in Amsterdam marijuana cafes
Dutch government ditches 'weed pass' plan that effectively would have barred tourists.

AMSTERDAM — The incoming Dutch government has ditched plans for a national "weed pass" that would have been available only to residents and that would have effectively banned tourists from Amsterdam's marijuana cafes.

However, under a provisional governing pact unveiled this week, cities can bar foreigners from weed shops if they choose.

The pact says that it wants only Dutch residents to have access to marijuana cafes, but leaves enforcement up to cities. Amsterdam opposes a ban, which would hurt tourism.

Some cafe owners said Tuesday that they are satisfied Dutch weed policy will remain unchanged, while others criticized the lack of clarity.

Marijuana trafficking is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but people can't be prosecuted for possession of small amounts and the drug is sold openly in designated "coffee shops."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/3 ... 43646.html

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/30/a ... weed-pass/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/worl ... a/1668761/


They're ALL reporting this as a victory for us.

Seems like as vague as this new law is, the cities are open to enforcing it or not.... which in AMS, i'll say 99.9999999% its not gonna be enforced.

Victory?

Damn, does this mean it's the end of the hype? hehe, are you kidding me, never.
Ok, let's all say this together, ready? 1......................2.......................3........................NEXT...
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