NETHERLANDS: From October 1, coffee shops in the Dutch border city of Maastricht will close their doors to foreign visitors unless they are German or Belgian citizens

Record ID: 560167

  • Title: NETHERLANDS: From October 1, coffee shops in the Dutch border city of Maastricht will close their doors to foreign visitors unless they are German or Belgian citizens
  • Date: 30th September 2011
  • Summary: MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COFFEE SHOP "EASY TIMES" PEOPLE ENTERING THE COFFEE SHOP ID CHECKPOINT AT THE ENTRANCE POSTERS ANNOUNCING A CANNABIS BAN FROM OCTOBER 1, 2001 INSIDE SHOP, VARIOUS OF SELLING CANNABIS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ASSOCIATION OF MAASTRICHT COFFEE SHOPS, MARC JOSEMANS, SAYING "From the first of October, we will start with our so-called neighbouring countries criteria, which means that only people who live in Holland, Belgium or Germany are allowed to enter in the coffee shops in Maastricht." BAGS OF MARIJUANA READY FOR SALE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ASSOCIATION OF MAASTRICHT COFFEE SHOPS, MARC JOSEMANS, SAYING "All these clients who are banned from the Dutch coffee shops right now, or the coffee shops in Maastricht at least, they have to return to the illegal circuit in their own country, therefore it will become a bigger problem and cause more criminality in those countries. And it's also partly the governments' fault in these countries. Never did the Belgian, French, German or Italian, for example, governments take their responsibilities by creating a system like we did in Holland - a safe system where people can buy their cannabis products without being approached for hard drugs and without being contacted by criminals.'' SELLING AND BUYING CANNABIS PRODUCTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ASSOCIATION OF MAASTRICHT COFFEE SHOPS, MARC JOSEMANS, SAYING "Everybody knows that anywhere in the street, you cannot buy an illegal bottle of beer. Why ? Because it's just not interesting for criminal organisations and as long as our governments are banning cannabis products, it will keep on being interesting for criminal organisations because they can make huge profits and that has to change." EXTERIOR OF COFFEE SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMERICAN TOURIST, SEBASTIAN, SAYING "But I have a German driver's licence, so I think I should be allowed in the coffee shop, right ? I can be German, right?" MAASTRICHT CHURCH ON THE RIVER
  • Embargoed: 15th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Netherlands, Netherlands
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Topics: Legal System,Business,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4M9SMVSEG6T0CCA41BVTVY74I
  • Story Text: From October 1, foreign visitors will no longer be welcome in Maastricht's numerous coffee shops to light up a joint or purchase cannabis, unless they can prove they are from the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany.
    The ban, imposed voluntarily by the coffee shop operators, is meant to show the Dutch government that a restriction on foreign visitors would not solve any problems.
    "From the first of October, we will start with our so-called neighbouring countries criteria, which means that only people who live in Holland, Belgium or Germany are allowed to enter in the coffee shops in Maastricht," Chairman of association of Maastricht coffee shops Marc Josemans explained to Reuters.
    In a bid to tackle nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shop and drugs trafficking, the Dutch conservative coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to fight the massive tourist flow to the country's coffee shops, radically shifting away from the country's decades-old liberal soft drugs approach that created the world famous coffee shops.
    Coffee shop owners argue banning tourists will only drive the problem under the carpet and say failed policies are responsible for the problems, not the coffee shops.
    "All these clients who are banned from the Dutch coffee shops right now, or the coffee shops in Maastricht at least, they have to return to the illegal circuit in their own country, therefore it will become a bigger problem and cause more criminality in those countries. And it's also partly the governments' fault in these countries. Never did the Belgian, French, German or Italian, for example, governments take their responsibilities by creating a system like we did in Holland - a safe system where people can buy their cannabis products without being approached for hard drugs and without being contacted by criminals," Josemans said.
    The Dutch government proposals to clamp down on drug tourism and coffee shops include plans by the Dutch Justice Ministry for a controversial "weedpass", a card only available to Dutch citizens. Under the plan, coffee shops would be operated like members-only clubs, open only to local residents and effectively barring foreign tourists. The European Court of Justice and the Dutch Supreme Court have both ruled it is not possible to discriminate people within the EU according to their nationalities, but made it clear that discrimination is allowed in specific circumstances, such as curbing drug tourism.
    Maastricht coffee shop owners hope their own ban will show to the authorities that the city would suffer financially if only church and museum-goers remain.

    2 million tourists per year visit 14 coffee shops in Maastricht and spend 140 million euros outside the coffee shop, which is an equivalent to 1700 jobs for the local citizens, according to the Maastricht Coffee Shop Association.
    Sebastian, an American tourist, is already thinking about ways to get around the ban.
    "But I have a German driver's licence, so I think I should be allowed in the coffee shop, right ? I can be German, right?" he said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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