‘Coffee shops' linked to police

[Puffin13]

I usually provide a source for all news stories I post but this came in an email newsletter from Dutch News (web site is here: http://www.dutchnews.nl/) so I cannot provide a link to the story. This is it, for what it's worth. If this happens in Maastricht, I think it would be just terrible!

‘Coffee shops’ linked to police

The 16 hashish-selling coffee shops in Maastricht are to introduce a new biometric control system to stop minors entering the premises and customers buying more than the permitted five grammes of soft drugs a day, ANP Midcapper Nutreco was the big gainer in Amsterdam following takeover rumours. The AEX scrambled back over the 500 point mark by early afternoon. STOCK MARKETSreports. Customers will first have to show a passport or other ID card which will be checked through a computer linked to the national police database. In addition, customers
will be photographed and their fingerprints taken. The coffee shop owners association VOCM said the system meant they now met city council requirements.

[cantona7]

hmm..i dont like the sound of this? whats next?

[DC]

....a sample of yer dna. Unless Maastricht city council requirements are equal to a police state, this sounds like bullshit to me.

[greenking]

i don't think i like the idea of having my id checked and finger print's scaned
just so i can have a smoke a chill out , i understand with under age people it's a big problem for coffee shop owners i don't have a problem with that but at 34 years old im past looking 17 year's old ,
every time i seen a young person come in to a shop they have allways been asked for i.d whats next i wander

[courtjester]

Ah, Maastricht. Peculiar city. Not as tolerant of the coffeeshop scene as other cities. Not as tolerant of other nationalities as most Dutch folks are, for that matter. (That could be because it isn't quite as touristy, and it also could be that Maastricht is punch-drunk from centuries of getting its ass kicked from every direction, in every war, from Charlemagne to Hitler.) And yet, the Carnival/Mardi Gras celebration there supposedly is exceeded only by those in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans and Sydney.

Actually, if this could happen anywhere, Maastricht is the likely place, because it has a political leader (I believe it's the mayor, if I recall correctly), who's on the front line of shutting down coffeeshops, and because the many Belgians and Germans who live within minutes by train or bus, and flock to the coffeeshops, are openly regarded as nuisances by the locals.

Coffeeshops in Maastricht have dropped like flies the last few years, according to a couple budtenders we had the pleasure of speaking with there, and they seem to feel greater concern about the industry's future than other cities we have visited.

Do yourselves a favor. Get off the train in Sittard, 20 minutes before Maastricht, go to Skunk C/S, and get the White Night. It's better than anything you'll smoke in Maastricht anyway, and better than just about anything you'll smoke in Amsterdam.

And they won't fingerprint you.

[jim tea]

what ^he^ said.

keep in mind to that Maastricht is a border town too and they are apparently sick of Germans making weed runs in and out of their town, thus the harsh attitude towards shops