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.
Comments
Anyway I point I saw raised elsewhere is that if they restrict it to only dutch people then under EU law that would be discrimination and as such they could be sued.
Also this will kill the cannabis cup effectively killing off a lot of the american tourists in November who spend an awful lot of cash in what is an otherwise dead month. (By that I mean not many tourists).
Also this will kill of an awful lot of tourism full stop. I know they reckon that people will start coming because there are no drugs but I highly doubt that it would make up the same numbers. Also the level of crime will rise as your basically creating a new crime add to that the native who will start selling it on at a mark up..
Cannabis has proven health benefits, there are countless studies backing this assertion, and yet we continue with the failed war on drugs to satisfy an ignorant minority.
Recent Research on Medical Marijuana
Also the crime fighting aspect is completely destroyed when taken in context. These coffeeshops offered a safe place to purchase and consume cannabis, and was somewhat regulated. Once this law goes through and coffeeshops are closed down, where are people going to purchase their cannabis?
This law is not going to stop cannabis use, it'll only make users go back to street dealers, actually increasing crime...
So in effect, this law is accomplishing the exact opposite of what it was intended to do.
Another win for conservative politicians.
I can see people who live in Holland and smoke starting up a 'guided tour' type business to get around the law. From the ideas being kicked around in Holland, they have more holes in them than some of their cheeses.
I think the big thing the Dutch are pissed off about is those that only come for a couple of hours - those from the UK, Germany, Belgium, France and Denmark just to buy weed to take home. These are mostly drug couriers and are pretty scummy people. They are what is driving the Dutch perception of associated crime.
The prostitution does also bring its own crime - people trafficking, but this problem is down to failures in the European immigration system.
Always the symptom, never the cause...