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The Dutch dream goes up in smoke...
May 30, 2011, 2:27 pm Laura Anderson
Those tourists who flock to Amsterdam and other Dutch cities for their liberal laws regarding drugs, particularly cannabis, will be disappointed to hear that this is all about to go up in smoke.
The Dutch Government claims that by the end of the year, they aim to curb the proliferation in ‘drug tourism’ that is sweeping the Netherlands.
The new laws will see tourists banned from buying drugs in ‘coffee shops’, with Dutch health ministers stating, "In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end".
This new approach to drugs is part of a wider bid to promote health and curb crime in the Netherlands, with Dutch residents also being subject to a new set of laws regarding the buying and selling of cannabis.
When the new regulations take effect, Dutch citizens will be required to register as members at shops in order to have access to their goods, and a restriction on numbers of members for each outlet will be enforced.
There are already some towns that have restricted the sale of cannabis to tourists, such as Maastricht and Terneuzen, with Limburg, Zeeland and Noord Brabant close behind.
Next year the laws will be in effect in every city across the country, including the favourite tourist drug destination of Amsterdam, which is currently home to over 220 cannabis coffee shops.
May 30, 2011, 2:27 pm Laura Anderson
Those tourists who flock to Amsterdam and other Dutch cities for their liberal laws regarding drugs, particularly cannabis, will be disappointed to hear that this is all about to go up in smoke.
The Dutch Government claims that by the end of the year, they aim to curb the proliferation in ‘drug tourism’ that is sweeping the Netherlands.
The new laws will see tourists banned from buying drugs in ‘coffee shops’, with Dutch health ministers stating, "In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end".
This new approach to drugs is part of a wider bid to promote health and curb crime in the Netherlands, with Dutch residents also being subject to a new set of laws regarding the buying and selling of cannabis.
When the new regulations take effect, Dutch citizens will be required to register as members at shops in order to have access to their goods, and a restriction on numbers of members for each outlet will be enforced.
There are already some towns that have restricted the sale of cannabis to tourists, such as Maastricht and Terneuzen, with Limburg, Zeeland and Noord Brabant close behind.
Next year the laws will be in effect in every city across the country, including the favourite tourist drug destination of Amsterdam, which is currently home to over 220 cannabis coffee shops.
