the dutch dont want tourists anymore

teddansonswig

It seams the end has come for holidays in Holland. And with that, my faith in the European project (if the euro wasn't enough). anyone else think its pressure from other Euro country's to conform? Not Portugal obviously.

prohibition = failure.


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1215/breaking52.html

TeddyTedson

The reputation of the Netherlands as the go-to country for a legal joint will begin to vanish like a puff of smoke next year as sales to foreigners of cannabis and hashish in coffee shops are banned.
The Dutch government has been clamping down on the sale of soft drugs since 2007 because of gang-related crime and concern about the risk to health, particularly as stronger forms of cannabis have been introduced.
"The Dutch drugs policy's appeal to foreign users has to be reduced," Dutch Security and Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten said in a letter to parliament.
"Drug use by minors will be strongly discouraged and in particular, vulnerable young people will be protected against drug use," the minister added.
The new rules, which will first take effect in the south and gradually be extended countrywide, limit sales of cannabis to residents of the Netherlands who must enrol as members of a coffee shop, the minister said.
The rules will come into effect from January 1st, 2012, but will not be enforced until May 1st, starting in the three southern provinces where drug tourism is most common and regarded as a problem by many local residents.
The rest of the country, including Amsterdam, whose drugs scene is a tourist magnet, will enforce the new rules from January 1st, 2013.
From that year onwards, a coffee shop can have a maximum of 2,000 members.
The Dutch government, whose push for a stricter drugs policy is led by the Christian Democrats party, will forbid any coffee shops within 350m of a school, with effect from 2014.
The government in October launched a plan to ban what it considered to be highly potent forms of cannabis - known as "skunk" - placing these in the same category as hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine.

This is old news?

galwayrush

Do you think people only go to the netherlands for dope?:rolleyes:

elefant

I'm in Amsterdam at the minute, and I'm reading about this on boards all the time, but I won't believe it until it actually happens.

How can they enforce this? What stops someone buying weed for someone else?

And this part of the article
The Dutch government, whose push for a stricter drugs policy is led by the Christian Democrats party, will forbid any coffee shops within 350m of a school, with effect from 2014.- I'm fairly sure this has been the case for years already.

Yakult

They have been saying this for a while. I'll believe it when I see it.


In other news, Amsterdam removes ban due to tourism down 90% in the second quarter of 2012. :pac:

mikom

elefant wrote: »

I'm in Amsterdam at the minute, and I'm reading about this on boards all the time, but I won't believe it until it actually happens.

How can they enforce this? What stops someone buying weed for someone else?

And this part of the article
The Dutch government, whose push for a stricter drugs policy is led by the Christian Democrats party, will forbid any coffee shops within 350m of a school, with effect from 2014.- I'm fairly sure this has been the case for years already.

Good luck enforcing it is right.

Meanwhile in Spain and Switzerland......

Cannabis Legal and Regulated in Spain for 2012

Following news that Switzerland will permit its residents to grow 4 cannabis plants for personal consumption from January 1st 2012, The Basque Parliamant in Spain has followed suit. A new law bill will officially regulate the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis in the Basque region from 2012.

The Basque Region of Spain will regulate cannabis markets in 2012
Furthermore the Basque regions natonal health authority has denounced cannabis prohibition.

The leading health official in the region is Rafael Bengoa, who said ""We do not want to be prohibitionists".
"The consumption and possession of cannabis are regulated by the penal code and by the law on citizen security."

"For the new ruling, for which technical and legal studies have been undertaken, the regional government wants to open a debate with associations in favour of consumption and to shape their rights".

Jesus Maria Fernandez also works for the Basque Health Authority.
Mr Fernandez told reporters "It is better to regulate than to ban."

"The consumption of cannabis is a practice that is already consolidated," he concluded.

The Basque actions on cannabis are sure to fly in the face of America's 'absolutely no cannabis is good cannabis' policy and once upon a time would have lead to sanctions being placed upon Spain.

Today however cannabis is so much a part of European life no one takes much notice of how it stands legally anymore.

But for the Basque region of Spain and its many cannabis social clubs its hoped this law change will put an end to the practice of kicking down the front doors of otherwise perfectly law-abiding citizens simply because they prefer cannabis over alcohol.

http://pr.cannazine.co.uk/2011121315...-in-spain.html

teddansonswig

galwayrush wrote: »

Do you think people only go to the netherlands for dope?:rolleyes:

i think non-stoner oap's go once to the Netherlands to look at Van Gogh
they are killing off any repeat trips. american kids wont bother in their thousands.
I do feel for the dutch having to deal with the masses of unwashed stoners and out of their head brit army folk, only solution is eurowide decriminalization

very old news alright but some reason its in reuters/irishtimes this eve

dam christians.

biko

The kind of tourists that just go over for drugs I'm fairly sure the Dutch can do without.

RichieC

Can't imagine this is very popular in the Dam..

Yakult

biko wrote: »

The kind of tourists that just go over for drugs I'm fairly sure the Dutch can do without.

Generalization much?

teddansonswig

biko wrote: »

The kind of tourists that just go over for drugs I'm fairly sure the Dutch can do without.

same could be said for people visiting ireland for the craic.
we could do without.
oh no wait, they bring in a fortune in airport/drink/walking taxes

HovaBaby

WTF is wrong with cannabis being legalized?

Tom here get's a stern warning for possessing cannabis, he has a peaceful smoke on a Saturday night. 2 years down the line he gets a fine. Meanwhile drunks drive around the place causing deaths, beating up their wives and messing up their families. Oh, and die from liver failure.

I raise my flag to the Swiss and Spanish, at least they have some common sense. Hopefully Ireland will have some common sense too, someday. Once the current crop of old-timers TD's die out, and the OAP's who would protest morning, noon and night if Cannbis was close to being legalized die out too, maybe it'll happen. In the meantime people need to go to interbred scumbags who'd cut you in less than a second to get some weed.

HovaBaby

bump

Seachmall

teddansonswig wrote: »

anyone else think its pressure from other Euro country's to conform?

It's from an overly conservative government, they had planned this since before they had been elected.

I heard about this last year so myself and a few mates booked our tickets and had great craic in October.

End of an era.

Wompa1

HovaBaby wrote: »

WTF is wrong with cannabis being legalized?

Tom here get's a stern warning for possessing cannabis, he has a peaceful smoke on a Saturday night. 2 years down the line he gets a fine. Meanwhile drunks drive around the place causing deaths, beating up their wives and messing up their families. Oh, and die from liver failure.

Sounds like the answer would be to make alcohol illegal rather than legalize cannabis

eurofoxy

it was brought in by the mayor of maastricht as part of a plan to remove drug running through maastricht..the original plan was to move coffee shops from the centre of the town but that was not approved,

It was then put forward by the amsterdam council to try to stop the drug tourism problems of late, basically it is just to get rid of the large amount of junkies who just hang out at coffee shops all day who are not dutch residents and who will never become dutch residents for what ever reasons.

however the plan had to be changed at the last minute so people who can prove they are resident or people holding belgian and german passports are also exempt.

They also want to get rid of the english stag nights they cause more hassle than they are worth and also as stated above drug tourism is something that they wish to get rid of...its also the reason why the famous red light district is now much smaller than a few years ago, amsterdam wishes to change its image...

Seachmall

Wompa1 wrote: »

Sounds like the answer would be to make alcohol illegal rather than legalize cannabis

Except that worsens problems, as history shows.

Plus, people wouldn't want it outlawed anyway, which leaves a big stench of hypocrisy.

Eric Cartman

Goodnight sweet weed , this to me is like banning muslims from mecca

HovaBaby

eurofoxy wrote: »

it was brought in by the mayor of maastricht as part of a plan to remove drug running through maastricht..the original plan was to move coffee shops from the centre of the town but that was not approved,

It was then put forward by the amsterdam council to try to stop the drug tourism problems of late, basically it is just to get rid of the large amount of junkies who just hang out at coffee shops all day who are not dutch residents and who will never become dutch residents for what ever reasons.

however the plan had to be changed at the last minute so people who can prove they are resident or people holding belgian and german passports are also exempt.

They also want to get rid of the english stag nights they cause more hassle than they are worth and also as stated above drug tourism is something that they wish to get rid of...its also the reason why the famous red light district is now much smaller than a few years ago, amsterdam wishes to change its image...

Having a couple of drug tourists is not a lot worse than having alcohol legalized. Go into town on a Saturday night at 2-3AM.

HovaBaby

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Goodnight sweet weed , this to me is like banning muslims from mecca

Don't worry, the Swiss and the Spanish have allowed people to grow their own stuff recently, maybe it is the start of something new.

Doc Ruby

Legalising cannabis is alright, but it needs to be done across the EU all at once, otherwise you'll get troublesome elements like the Dutch did.

Wompa1

HovaBaby wrote: »

Don't worry, the Swiss and the Spanish have allowed people to grow their own stuff recently, maybe it is the start of something new.

You are right. Lets make alcohol illegal. And I do drink Let's do it. It's essentially a form of poison anyway, let's do it. Who's with me?

No takers?

opinion guy

Leaving aside the cannabis side of it for a minute, I'm pretty sure bringing in a law that you can only sell a product, any product to your own countrymen is both discriminatory and against EU rules governing freedom of trade etc

AeoNGriM

biko wrote: »

The kind of tourists that just go over for drugs I'm fairly sure the Dutch can do without.

Yes and no, I can see what you're saying alright but it's the ones who overdo it along with the alcohol that are the real problem.

Take me for example. I love my weed, not a huge drinker though. I've often popped over to Amsterdam with a friend or by myself, primarily to have fun in the coffeeshops. I get high, read a book, listen to music, chat to the locals and the other tourists and behave myself. I'm there to smoke weed and experience the culture and the city, and it's something I really enjoy.

It's the 20 man stag parties that get mouldy drunk and then invade a coffeeshop loudly demanding 'the good sh!t' and then puke all over the place, hassle the girls in De Wallen (Red Light District) and fall into the canals that are the problem tourists the Dutch can do without.

onlyrocknroll

Yakult wrote: »

Generalization much?

I don't think so.

I've been to the Netherlands many times, and I've visited coffee shops while I was there, but it certainly wasn't the reason that I visited. It's a country with very beautiful cities and a rich culture.

By all means buy some cannabis while you're there if you want to, but if that's the only reason that you've visited then you're probably not the type of tourist worth bothering about.

Take the previous poster who mentioned "OAPs" who go "look at Van Gogh" for instance...

mikom

Wompa1 wrote: »

You are right. Lets make alcohol illegal. And I do drink Let's do it. Who's with me?

Al Capone?

ArmaniJeanss

opinion guy wrote: »

Leaving aside the cannabis side of it for a minute, I'm pretty sure bringing in a law that you can only sell a product, any product to your own countrymen is both discriminatory and against EU rules governing freedom of trade etc

The district of Maastricht already won their case at EU level, the court accepting that what they were proposing didn't contravene any EU law.

Seachmall

Wompa1 wrote: »

You are right. Lets make alcohol illegal.

Your strawman isn't even subtle.

Most people at least try to hide their strawmen with logic.

Wompa1

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Legalising cannabis is alright, but it needs to be done across the EU all at once, otherwise you'll get troublesome elements like the Dutch did.

My prediction is, in the next 5 or so years it will be legalized and we will still get troublesome elements that we get today. Most of the drug runners in Holland aren't even Dutch, they are Turkish.

Obama was expected to move towards legalization in the States, instead he passed a law to make anything with over 9% potency a class A drug. So, if it is made legal in EU, it would be made with a similar restriction on potency, people will think it's "sh!t weed man" and look for stronger stuff, either stronger weed from drug dealers or Cocaine, Acid, Heroin etc.

That's my prediction anyway

Seachmall

Wompa1 wrote: »

Obama was expected to move towards legalization in the States

Obama made it very clear from early on he was in no way interested in legalizing cannabis.

either stronger weed from drug dealers or Cocaine, Acid, Heroin etc.

Gateway drug? Really?

ScumLord

galwayrush wrote: »

Do you think people only go to the netherlands for dope?:rolleyes:

No but the people who regularly go to Amsterdam for smoke will stop going. I've been to Amsterdam, it's a lovely city but I've seen it now I have no reason to go back other than to sit in a coffeeshop smoking weed.

Overall the Dutch aren't that friendly, Rotterdam is very, very different from the tourist trap of Amsterdam and they don't give a flying fig for tourists they'd rather not see outsiders at all.