Visit in 2013 worth it?

[doctordude]

Venlo used to have an even stricter system with coffeeshop employees patrolling the surrounding area and a membership system where every customer had to register - I used to be a card-carrying member of 3 coffeeshops in Venlo! The Wietpas came anyway, 2 out 5 shops have closed down and the others are involved in massive layoffs. The local politicians hate the Wietpas due to a massive increase in street trafficking but even the major has to obey the f'ing law

I still hope for the best, but changes have to happen on a national level and that means during the current negotiations for a new government coalition.

[jimi62471]

my best advice is ----> Head North.. the lower regions a Fooked until they change their plan..

[Hazy Neville]

By the looks of this report NO

Government says it will press on with cannabis card plans

Friday 28 September 2012

The cabinet plans to continue with the introduction of a cannabis pass for registered users nationwide, junior justice minister Fred Teeven told reporters on Friday.

There is mounting opposition to the new system from city council leaders, who say turning cannabis cafes into private members' clubs will lead to an increase in street dealing and drugs nuisance.

'We will not make any concessions and we will come down hard on street dealing,' Teeven said. The cabinet is due to evaluate the effect of the new rules in the south of the country next month.

Teeven did say the cabinet wants to work with local authorities in implementing the new rules.

On Thursday, Breda city council passed a motion urging the next cabinet to reverse the rules because of the problems it says the cannabis pass is creating.

© DutchNews.nl

[Sailor59]

'We will not make any concessions and we will come down hard on street dealing,' Teeven said.

So in many speeches he and his party were insisting that The Netherlands aint got a pot to piss in and cuts have to be made. Austerity is the word. Hard words from a hard man.

The cabinet is due to evaluate the effect of the new rules in the south of the country next month.

The exit route.

Teeven did say the cabinet wants to work with local authorities in implementing the new rules.

The compromise.


I fucking hate politicians.

[doctordude]

The operational word here is "next month"... when NL will have a new government with a more centrist composition. And a new budget - where they'll discover that prohibition is prohibitively expensive

My guess is that dutch pragmatism will prevail...

[weoftenscore6]

I was talking to friend the other day over a joint and a beer and we were looking at how this could be overcome.

We came up with a solution which I thought could potentially work. Although its not perfect it's better than having the weed pass in its current incarnation, especially in Amsterdam.

Basically it's revolves around tourists being able to buy/ be issued temporary passes to the coffeeshops which would effectively make them pseudo-dutch nationals for the durations of their stay and allow then to participate in the coffeeshops. These could either be issued by hotels or registered outlets in the cities.

If the cities don't want any foreign nationals in their coffeeshops (eg in the south where they apparently see drug tourism as a major problem) then they simply dont have anywhere which will issue the temporary passes. But if a city (eg amsterdam) doesn't have a problem with foreign nationals entering their coffeeshops then they make the passes freely available. Hell they could even charge a small fee (say €20) to get a pass. This income could be used to fight the so called problem ( ) of drug tourism which is the reason for introducing the weed pass in the first place. furthermore if a foreign national is causing a nuisance (another reason they give for introducing the weed pass) they can simply take away their pass.

The above could be stoned philosophising, but I think it could work.

[doctordude]

The problem here is that the Wietpas is a national law. That basically gives the cities no possibility to deviate from the rules. The locals can hate the Wietpas all they want but the major / chief of police is not above the law.

As I said in my last post, Venlo had a system incorporating what you propose (registration in the shops with membership cards) as well as the Haarlem proposal (responsibility beyond the shops). Didn't help a bit

The reason why all the majors come up with those proposals is not because they could change anything themselves. It's to generate political pressure on their respective parties to kill the Wietpas on the national level. Everything depends on the position of the new government and this will hopefully be decided during the current negotiations.... Literally biting my nails here

[craig bell]

As stated the word here to look for is "NEXT MONTH" with a bit of luck there beginning to see that the weitpass isn't working and the revenue lost in these times of such high deficits will hopefully have a big say in the weitpass being faded out. It may only be for the moment though. But personally i think this will not go ahead in Amsterdam and therefore will also free up the southern cities again. Haarleem are looking at this hallmark idea instead(don't actually know the full ins and outs of that yet). But anything is better than the pass. I like the idea already stated of tourists buying a pass when visiting. that would generate more money for the economy. But i can't see it ever happening as it would cause arguments in the south. Anyway let's just hope and pray everything works out next month or we are F**ked. Amsterdam will be "up in smoke". Im booked for 26th November anyway. But wanted to attend my first 4/20 next year. Will wait and see the outcome of next months discussion's. May still attend 4/20 if weed is still easily available though. I wonder if c/s will allow tourists in with there own weed. If they used that excuse that tourists can smoke there own then they would be able to sell some and then say that the tourists purchased it elsewhere. Just a thought.

[dosmanos]

i'm 60 october,been smoking weed and resins from age 15 .I can't live without the peace of the dam.what they gonna do next? 1978 I started my biannual trips there. Have a heart!

Happy birthday, Katsukenny, I'm 60 in December, been smoking since 1970. I feel the same way you do; the peace of the 'dam is something special, and it's unique in all the world. If it goes away, something important to the world dies with it. Have a heart, indeed!

We can only hope that the pragmatism will win in the end.

9 trips so far, 10th in Nov probably.

[Old Fart]

i'm 60 october,been smoking weed and resins from age 15 .I can't live without the peace of the dam.what they gonna do next? 1978 I started my biannual trips there. Have a heart!

Happy birthday, Katsukenny, I'm 60 in December, been smoking since 1970. I feel the same way you do; the peace of the 'dam is something special, and it's unique in all the world. If it goes away, something important to the world dies with it. Have a heart, indeed!

We can only hope that the pragmatism will win in the end.

9 trips so far, 10th in Nov probably.

Jeeeeeze...what a bunch of old farts.

1970 here too...

[Uncle Ron]

i'm 60 october,been smoking weed and resins from age 15 .I can't live without the peace of the dam.what they gonna do next? 1978 I started my biannual trips there. Have a heart!

Happy birthday, Katsukenny, I'm 60 in December, been smoking since 1970. I feel the same way you do; the peace of the 'dam is something special, and it's unique in all the world. If it goes away, something important to the world dies with it. Have a heart, indeed!
We can only hope that the pragmatism will win in the end.
9 trips so far, 10th in Nov probably.

Jeeeeeze...what a bunch of old farts.
1970 here too...

1973... at the tender age of 12

My thoughts if a visit in 2013 is worth it...
In a word - yes.
Put all of the hype aside; stay informed as best as possible (be proactive, seek information); don't add to the hype - ex. "my friend the budtender told me this and I'm freaking out", etc... BS and so on...
...

edit - yawn.
Next...

[spidergawd]

....Next!

[doctordude]

To stay informed: DutchNews (general news in english). Just search for "Wietpass" or "coffee shop" to get the relevant articles. Or search for "coalition" to get information about the upcoming government. For german readers I recommend KeinWietpas

And now let's all roll a joint and wait ...

[Cudi_420]

I'm set to complete my Masters in mid-2012, and will be taking 2-3 weeks off in Oct/Nov to travel through Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest (my favourite cities).

I've always visited Amsterdam but I might feel less inclined to this time if coffeeshops cut out tourists. It seems like it's going to happen. I'm grateful to have been there three times, but I guess I'll never again get to experience the coffeeshop experience there. Been following this for a while, and there always seems to be something, someone, somewhere trying to put an end to these shops, but the wietpas seems to be the only thing with a bit of legs and political support. I am not confident that I'll be able to enter any shop and buy as a tourist.

Sad times

Happy for anyone to disagree with me! It is hard to come across information on this. This forum is definitely my no.1 source (and a random search in Google for recent news, but the translations are often quite poor).

[sensismiler]

I'm set to complete my Masters in mid-2012, and will be taking 2-3 weeks off in Oct/Nov to travel through Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest (my favourite cities).

I've always visited Amsterdam but I might feel less inclined to this time if coffeeshops cut out tourists. It seems like it's going to happen. I'm grateful to have been there three times, but I guess I'll never again get to experience the coffeeshop experience there. Been following this for a while, and there always seems to be something, someone, somewhere trying to put an end to these shops, but the wietpas seems to be the only thing with a bit of legs and political support. I am not confident that I'll be able to enter any shop and buy as a tourist.

Sad times

Happy for anyone to disagree with me! It is hard to come across information on this. This forum is definitely my no.1 source (and a random search in Google for recent news, but the translations are often quite poor).

October and November you'll still be able to go in coffeeshops. So get your travel booked!! The ban doesnt come in until Jan 1st 2013