Dutch judge upholds ban on shops selling pot to tourists

[dwiggins]

The comments are interesting but I can't tell which ones are fact vs. opinion.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/2012042 ... -20120427/


Dutch judge upholds ban on shops selling pot to tourists

The Associated Press

Updated: Fri. Apr. 27 2012 7:32 AM ET
THE HAGUE — A Dutch judge on Friday upheld the government's plan to introduce a "weed pass" to prevent foreigners from buying marijuana in coffee shops in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam, whose scores of coffee shops are a major tourism drawcard, opposes the plan, and mayor Eberhard van der Laan says he wants to hammer out a compromise.
A lawyer for coffee shop owners said he would file an urgent appeal against the ruling by a judge at The Hague District court that clears the way for the introduction of the pass in southern provinces on May 1.
The pass will roll out in the rest of the country -- including Amsterdam -- next year. It will turn coffee shops into private clubs with membership open only to Dutch residents and limited to 2,000 per shop.
The changes are the most significant rollback in years to the traditional Dutch tolerance of marijuana use.
In a written ruling, the court agreed with government lawyer Eric Daalder that the fight against criminality linked to the drug trade justified the measure.
"This is a totally political judgment," said Maurice Veldman, one of the team of lawyers who represented coffee shop owners in the case. "The judge completely fails to answer the principal question: Can you discriminate against foreigners when there is no public order issue at stake?"
Veldman said he would appeal, but added it was unlikely he could do so before the new policy comes into force May 1.
The government argues that the move is justified as a way of cracking down on so-called "drug tourists," effectively couriers who drive over the border from neighbouring Belgium and Germany to buy large amounts of marijuana and take it home to resell.
The tourists cause traffic and public order problems in towns and cities along the Dutch border.
However, such problems are virtually nonexistent in Amsterdam where the small, smoke-filled coffee shops are visited by thousands of tourists each year -- mostly youngsters who consider smoking a joint to be part of the essential Amsterdam experience alongside visiting cultural highlights like the Van Gogh museum and the canals.
The conservative Dutch government introduced the new measures saying it wants to return shops back to what they were originally intended to be: small local stores selling to local people.
The government had no immediate reaction to Friday's ruling.
Coffee shop owners in the southern city of Maastricht have said they plan to disregard the new measures, forcing the government to prosecute one of them in a test case.
Though the weed pass policy was designed to resolve traffic problems facing southern cities, later studies have predicted that the result of the system would be a return to street dealing and an increase in petty crime -- which was the reason for the introduction of the tolerance policy in the 1970s in the first place.
The cities of Tilburg, Breda and Maastricht have now said they oppose the pass system, though Eindhoven plans to move ahead with it and the eastern city of Dordrecht wants to adopt it in anticipation of an influx of foreign buyers -- even though it is not yet required to do so.

[howden01]

hi do you know when the ban starts on amsterdam cant believe its happening.

[dconstrukt]

jan 2013.

crossing fingers it doesn't happen.

[dwiggins]

jan 2013.

crossing fingers it doesn't happen.

If it doesn't happen (am thinking it won't), will there be a A. big party, B. huge party C. ho-hum?
If there's a big party, and the tourists come in a major way, I'd say it's been one heck of a public relations effort.

[dconstrukt]

oh trust me... we're ALL hoping it doesn't... doesn't look too promising at the moment however...

[lampshade]

oh trust me... we're ALL hoping it doesn't... doesn't look too promising at the moment however...

Can't really see it happening in full force, there are opposing parties so presume some sort of compromise will be arranged..

Either way won't stop me smoking in the dam

[woodenhead]

oh trust me... we're ALL hoping it doesn't... doesn't look too promising at the moment however...

Can't really see it happening in full force, there are opposing parties so presume some sort of compromise will be arranged..

Either way won't stop me smoking in the dam

I read in a Dutch newspaper that they have started the ban as of May 4,2012 down in 3 provinces Limburg,Brabant and Zeeland... This fucking sucks I'm gonna b there in 5 weeks and I was planning on going to Maastricht 2 get me through the 2 weeks I'm gonna b in Germany close to Cologne near Aachen but I do know that locals ,Belgians,and Germans are protesting it BIGTIME I've seen all kinds of pictures of their demonstrations in the street,thousand of people and I also know that all the Dutch government officials have turned in their resignation slips as well...everything or I should say everyone is waiting for the new election in September where and when everyone is hoping that the Dutch people will vote overwhelmingly to not pass the weed ban act against tourists but this does not help me and my vacation in June,July and August when I'm gonna be over there but definatly 4 now Amsterdam is still legal until Jan 2013..It just doesn't make any sense all race live in the Netherlands r they gonna start doing what HITLER did and start harrassing everyone that doesn't look native Dutch...Where is our freedom anymore why do all these old FUCKHEAD politicians want everyone to miserable robots that just go 2 work and home..but it's still ok that everyone can get drunk and kill people driving on the roads..when do u ever hear that someone was so stoned they killed anyone from driving? NEVER that's when Thanks for letting me vent I hate the government ANYWHERE in the world! PEACE<LOVE<GOOD TOKING'S my friends