Good news! Maastricht drops weed pass + more flexibility

[Marco]

...more flexibility for Amsterdam!


Maastricht mayor does u-turn over cannabis club membership

05-09-2012

Locals in Maastricht should no longer have to formally register as marijuana users to buy soft drugs from the city’s cannabis cafes, mayor Onno Hoes said in a letter to councillors on Wednesday.

Since May 1, cannabis cafes in the south of the country have been turned into member-only clubs in an effort to keep out foreigners. Only locals, who can prove they live in the area, are allowed to sign up for membership.

According to Nos television, Hoes says the number of foreigners trying to buy soft drugs has fallen so sharply that the membership cards are no longer necessary.

Official register

At the same time, so few locals have registered as cannabis users that changes need to be made in the way the membership system works. Because locals are reluctant to register, ID and an official council certificate stating where they live should be sufficient to buy marijuana, the mayor is quoted as saying.

Nos says Hoes also hopes this will reduce the number of street dealers who have appeared since the ban was introduced.

The marijuana pass system is due to be introduced in the rest of the country, including Amsterdam, in January next year. Amsterdam’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan and a majority of the city council are strongly opposed.

Amsterdam

Junior justice minister Fred Teeven told the capital’s local television station AT5 on Tuesday the introduction of the pass in the capital would take place in consultation with the city council.

‘The weed card will be introduced in Amsterdam but we will take local government into account,’ Teeven said.

Coffee shop holders welcomed the minister's statement, saying it showed the government is beginning to change its position.

Election

Meanwhile, opponents of the weed card have been campaigning for the legislation to be reversed in the September 12 general election.

According to Joep Oomen of the legalise cannabis movement voting for any political party on the left is good and any party on the right is bad.

Several parties, including Labour, are also calling for better regulation for marijuana production. Although cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, users can have up to five grammes for personal use or four plants without prosecution.


What do you think about the mayor of Maastricht's change of heart? Have your say using the comment form below
© DutchNews.nl

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[nooris]

This is incredible news! I will go and check this out myself in the afternoon. Marco, you made my day with your post.

[Dave J]

But what's to stop those who introduced the weed pass in the first if they were to get back into power just saying they will modify current policy so a signup and registration is no longer needed and people just need to show id and proof of living there?.

That may well satisfy enough Dutch nationals and residents so the same old will get back into government while still preventing foreigners and tourists from using the coffeeshops.

Could be a very dangerous move if such a modification was made to the current policy.

[Cisco]

Mmm why is this good news ? It reads to me that foreigners will still NOT be able to buy cannabis , please explain if I'm wrong

[treetop]

Mmm why is this good news ? It reads to me that foreigners will still NOT be able to buy cannabis , please explain if I'm wrong

Agreed. This is very BAD news for most of us on this forum. A workable version of the wietpass that dutch people might accept could be the future if a right leaning coalition comes into power.

[Marco]

I see your points guys, but I guess I see this as a further weakening of the weed pass. Plus, I think in the border towns tourists are not ever going to legally buy.

[Dave J]

Well any weakening of the policy as said is good. But its the seemingly impression than it may appear that the direction in which it may be weakening and possably may well be accepted in the southern areas where it is already in place does not sound good on the face of things. More so if the same parties get back into power.

However on reflection, if the more pro cannabis parties get into power it could possibly give that coalition a more and quicker or easier way to deal with the likes of Amsterdam who of cause don't want to ban the tourists etc. Do I correctly recall that it was the southern provences who fist wanted and welcomed the weed pass?. If so then a simple lifting of the signup and registering process and allow just a proof of id and residence would possibly satisfy all demands of the south. While at the same time possably allowing Amsterdam via consultation with the leaders there if they want to implement the pass, which we know they don't want to.

In other words give each area the option and leave the weed pass policy in place be it a reduced policy of id and residency to be debated at a later date.

[Smith2]

Maastricht is odd. It banned most tourists last year, before the wietpas was introduced, but not the Belgian and German tourists who are the vast majority of the traffic problem: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15134669. I've never found anyone who could give a vaguely plausible explanation of what that was about.

[Slip & Sal]

Locals in Maastricht should no longer have to formally register as marijuana users to buy soft drugs from the city’s cannabis cafes, mayor Onno Hoes said in a letter to councillors on Wednesday.

This is just a letter from a Mayor isn't it. I don't think it says it has been dropped, just he doesn't think it needs to be in the current form. It doesn't say that tourists are allowed back.


‘The weed card will be introduced in Amsterdam but we will take local government into account,’ Teeven said.

Still seems pretty shitty to this tourists.

[Sailor59]

May have missed it but, would visitors still be able to use coffeeshops but not be allowed to buy or simply be excluded totally?

[CHELSEA_SMOKERS_SOCIETY]

Just saw this story on the cannabis colleges face book status. Wonderfull news

[Uncle Ron]

Thanks for the news Marco.

My 0.2 Cents...
I think the Dutch Govt. has made a mistake in requiring an additional form of identification when it's not needed at all.
Every citizen in The Netherlands is required to have a govt. issued identification card, so why implement another? Stupid is that stupid does, and this time it fits like a glove.
I see the potential for a dramatic increase in the forgery business, just saying...
... also the cost. There may be a requirement to pay an annual fee, but this in no way covers all of the expenses of implementing and maintaining the pass system.
I think the cost will be passed on to the shops and eventually, wait for it.... the tax payers. As I said, the stupid thing.
I for one don't see one single shop in the entire Netherlands having anywhere near 1000 registered customers. This is considered a success for the opposition, think about it...
... and it also goes to what I said about paying for the system.

If, err... when I'm no longer allowed entry into coffee shops, I'll already have gotten over it because I read the writing on the wall years ago.
So many in denial...

Oh, before I forget... my condolences to all who had pot induced grandiose visions for Copenhagen.
Did anyone really think the conservative Danes were going to allow this to happen, at least the way it was being proposed?
Christiania is one thing, but to mimic even slightly The Netherlands defo would be another case of the stupid thing, just saying...

Hang in there peeps, it ain't over til it's over, or.... they require a special pass.

[Smirks]

That's definitely more than 2 cents worth Ron

[Uncle Ron]

That's definitely more than 2 cents worth Ron

Seriously, sometimes I wish I weren't so pessimistic, but after so many decades since the days of the awakening (60's), and still the ignorance persists.
Although I spent the majority of my adult life in the military and not a participant, I frustratingly observed the cannabis scene from not-so afar. TMI for this forum...

Decade after decade, the face of the cannabis user has remained the same, 15-25yo. What about the vast majority that is being overlooked or ignored?
Were they nothing but a bunch of posers, pretentious fucktards that consider this part of their lives as youthful indiscretion?
Many of them, Barrack H. Obama comes quickly to mind, just might fit the description to a T.
One question that has persisted in my mind after all of these decades, where are the older stoners? Cowardly hypocrites...

The current financial climate may make my comments seem less than 0.02 cents worth, but I think they are priceless.
Happy trails...

[TwoCanucks]

That's definitely more than 2 cents worth Ron

actually he said 0.2 cents.. so that's quite excessive! kidding. good perspective Ron, no need to get tied up in a knot over something we can't control.