No tourist ban or maybe there will be....then again...

[donpacino]

Wow wow wow!

Well it appears as though this is the step backwards in policy, and enforcement. This is not the way to reduce the illicit element from the equation.

The times are a changing.

Do you mean a step back in policy towards the weed pass or a step back in regards to freedom etc etc?

[TwoCanucks]

Specifically... both.

I'm worried for those that eventually register and are recorded in some government database as "marijuana" users. Could you imagine if that data base were corrupt or compromised? Just the fact a government agency may have access to that type of registry is alarming in itself.

Freedoms? Ha.

[donpacino]

Specifically... both.

I'm worried for those that eventually register and are recorded in some government database as "marijuana" users. Could you imagine if that data base were corrupt or compromised? Just the fact a government agency may have access to that type of registry is alarming in itself.

Freedoms? Ha.

You make a good point there, i hadnt really thought about it like that and yer it is a horrendous thought. It could open up the door to blackmail n' bribery and could also affect peoples employment chances etc, and that is just tip of the iceburg, nobody should have to declare if they smoke marijuana or not.

Half of me thinks this pass system wont happen, especially in amsterdam and that if it does happen in the smaller towns it will not last but the other half tells me the opposite and that it will happen and that my favourite destination is going to change beyond recognition.

[SGawain235]

You make a good point there, i hadnt really thought about it like that and yer it is a horrendous thought. It could open up the door to blackmail n' bribery and could also affect peoples employment chances etc, and that is just tip of the iceburg, nobody should have to declare if they smoke marijuana or not.

Half of me thinks this pass system wont happen, especially in amsterdam and that if it does happen in the smaller towns it will not last but the other half tells me the opposite and that it will happen and that my favourite destination is going to change beyond recognition.

Making predictions is a bad idea but I'm going to go ahead and do it now.

I think we will be able to predict the chance that the pass system will either be attempted and/or will be a success depending on two factors. The amount of tourists that visit the city that use cannabis AND the amount of industry in the city that support individuals that use cannabis.

For example, let's take Venlo and Amsterdam. Venlo is a relatively small town near the German border that has two coffeeshops, a grow shop and most likely(please correct me if I'm wrong) not a lot of restaurants, head shops, etc. They wouldn't loose that much by restricting their coffeeshops and are therefore pretty likely to both institute a ban and make the ban stick once it is in place.

Amsterdam, OTOH, is a whole different story. Even though not a huge amount of people go there specifically for using cannabis it is a pretty big part of the decision. It should also be pointed out that there is a significant amount of shops that, though they don't actually sell cannabis a lot of their business is there because of cannabis users. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the MASSIVE amount of stoner food places in the RLD but I'm sure that there are many other businesses that primarily exist to keep stoners fed, watered, and amused. If there is a sudden drop off in stoner business that would not only mean a signficant drop in coffeeshops(and the associated economic hit) but there would also be a significant drop in the head shops, falafel places, pizza places, and the other sixty kajillion places in Amsterdam that stoners frequent. Because of this Amsterdam will fight tooth and nail to keep things exactly as they are(On a side note, this is also why the people who use the services provided by the window girls should be running scared. They don't require anywhere near as much stuff as stoners do so they don't bring in as much money. Hence why Amsterdam is toning down the window girls like woah). Therefore I think that there is a very small chance that Amsterdam will implement the pass system and, if it does, it will be a catastrophic failure.

[TwoCanucks]

^^^^^^

In a bit of irony, Amsterdam cannabis tourism could actually increase substantially should a weitpass come to be.

[SGawain235]

^^^^^^

In a bit of irony, Amsterdam cannabis tourism could actually increase substantially should a weitpass come to be.

If this ends up happening and Amsterdam makes insane amounts of money because of it I will NEVER STOP LAUGHING. Of course, I'm kind of a douchebag when it comes to this kind of thing.

[Uncle Ron]

According the the article below, there will be a tourist ban. It starts with the southern provinces by the end of this year, no surprise there, and then the rest of the country by next year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110527/wl_ ... h_cannabis

Shops will only be allowed to have 1500 members?
I wonder what other restrictions will be applied?

This motivates me even more to restart growing my own.

Nothing happy about this at all...

[Mr Big]

Yes it's all true ADam will be bringing this in by the end of the year.
Extract below fro Sky News....

Tourists Face Weed Ban In Dutch Coffee Shops
Comments
3:39am UK, Saturday May 28, 2011
Tourists are to be banned from buying cannabis in Dutch "coffee shops", marking an end to the country's liberal stance on soft drugs.



The government also plans to restrict natives from buying the drug by the end of the year.
Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to curb drug tourism as part of a nationwide programme to promote health and fight crime.
"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament.


Under the new rules, only Dutch residents will be able to sign up as members of cannabis shops.
Dutch customers will have to sign up for at least a year's membership and each shop would be expected to have only up to 1,500 members, a justice ministry spokesman said.
The policy will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year, the spokesman said.
Amsterdam, home to about 220 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in its red light district.
Some officials have resisted the measures, saying they will push the soft drug trade underground.
Some Dutch border towns including Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners.
 

[Boner]

All I can say is anyone who is going over there in the next ... months enjoy the hell out of it as I honestly think the fat lady is almost singing.

[dconstrukt]

morons this govmt is.

We're in a GLOBAL recession - How the fuck can you say you care about your people when you're about to put thousands of them out of work and out of business?

How does this reduce crime? - Lets say any of the 10 tourists that are left in amsterdam wanna get weed, they gotta get it how? on the street.... so you're telling me that getting gear on the street is safer than buying in a coffeeshop? - Tell me what planet you come from that this happens... on planet earth its much safer to buy weed in a store.

How does this help tourism? - wait till you see the looks on the govmnt's faces when they have *NO* money due to lack of tourists.

[USbongLord]

yawn...ya kids better make yer connections soon then...im gonna laugh cause this is stupid....luckily it only affects my vacation each year...ill go to spain or jamacia if i need to go to a smoke friendly place...recon ill be saying goodbye too after this as amsterdam wont have any pull to get me there other then my friends and they can come here to my cooffeshop and remember the good times...the people in the dutch goverment and the people behind all this can go fuck themselves..im done..have a great weekend folks

[matty223]

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

heres an article

[USbongLord]

I HATE EVERYTHING

[Cisco]

I won't be upset until it's defo as this is still all speculation , damn one of the articles even says "according to media reports"

Now if I were to see a Government statement thats a different matter

[donpacino]

I won't be upset until it's defo as this is still all speculation , damn one of the articles even says "according to media reports"

Now if I were to see a Government statement thats a different matter

You are right it is best to wait until it is oficial before we all panic, i just went on the dutch government website and there is nothing recent on there about it.