- Title: NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM: Dutch coffeeshop relocation plan ignites controversy
- Date: 26th April 2008
- Summary: (L!2) MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS (APRIL 14, 2008) (REUTERS) DUTCH FLAG TOWN HALL ON MAIN SQUARE SIGN INDICATING COFFEE SHOP 'CLUB 69' BIKES OUTSIDE COFFEE SHOP PEOPLE WAITING AT ENTRANCE OF COFFEE SHOP SIGN READING (IN FRENCH) 'FORBIDDEN TO PEOPLE AGED LESS THAN 18' DOOR CLOSING, REVEALING LABEL READING 'I LOVE COFFEE SHOPS' LEAFLETS AT ENTRANCE OF COFFEE SHOPS READING (IN DUTCH, ENGLISH, GERMAN AND FRENCH) 'TIPS FOR BLOWERS' SCREEN SHOWING PRICES OF GRASS AND HASHISH (BY THE GRAM AND FOR A JOINT) (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) MARC JOSEMANS, CHAIRMAN OF THE MAASTRICHT COFFEESHOP ASSOCIATION (VOCM) AND OWNER OF COFFEE SHOP, SAYING: ''I think the attitude of Belgium and France is hypocritical. They are actually the ones exporting their drug problems to the Netherlands. We are not exporting it, they are. We in the Netherlands are taking our responsibilities.'' INSIDE COFFEE SHOP, GRASS AND HASHISH FOR SALE IN CONTAINERS GRASS IN CONTAINERS NUMBER 7 HAND TAKING GRASS VARIOUS OF HASHISH HAND TAKING SMALL BAG WITH GRASS (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) MARC JOSEMANS, CHAIRMAN OF THE MAASTRICHT COFFEESHOP ASSOCIATION (VOCM) AND OWNER OF COFFEE SHOP, SAYING: ''The European citizen is becoming less and less tolerant, towards foreigners, towards people with a different opinions, another sexual orientation, those who like a joint or even those sniffing coke in a recreative way. But we can maintain the current system. If you control it tightly, if you set up limits and the authorities manage the right level of control, then our system can be maintained. But the threshold of tolerance is lowering.''
- Embargoed: 11th May 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Lifestyle
- Reuters ID: LVAC0EMB240V4H75K8FO6PBU14FG
- Story Text: The mellow atmosphere of a coffee shop in Maastricht hides a harsher reality: because of the presence of drug runners, the city tries to relocate some of its cannabis-selling outlets to the city limits, angering it's rural neighbours.
Sitting among the mellow smokers in a coffeeshop in Maastricht, it is easy to forget that a plan to relocate half of the cannabis-selling outlets to the city limits has aroused such fury.
The southern Dutch city has been trying for five years to push seven out of fourteen shops to three new "coffee corners" at its northern, western and southern borders.
The marijuana equivalent of out-of-town shopping malls would serve the
5 to 2 million people who pour into the city each year in search of a puff.
Proponents and critics of the plan generally agree that the coffee shops and the overwhelming majority of their customers who come for a joint or a small bag of hash are not the problem.
The trouble comes from the criminals they attract, notably about 500 "drug runners" on the streets peddling substances such as cocaine, ecstasy or heroin.
Maastricht argues that it is difficult to stamp drug crime out in the tight central streets and that at more isolated sites outside the city, policing would be easier and the dealers could not come into contact with coffeeshop customers.
Marc Josemans (pronounce Yosemans), chairman of the Maastricht Coffeeshop Association (VOCM), is in favour of the plan. He says relocating the coffee shops to the city outskirts should prevent the drug runners from intercepting the customers heading for legal coffee shops.
''Unfortunately, we have seen a disturbing phenomena over the last five years, the drug runners, the ones who sell drugs illegally on the street, approaching our customers between the parkings and the coffee shops, offering them soft drugs as well as hard drugs. It is a dangerous situation. Those people are usually aggressive, they are not easy to deal with, and to fight against them we needed a new initiative: to displace half of the coffee shops on the outskirts of the city where people could park just at the entrance of the coffee shops to prevent the drug runners from intercepting our clients,'' Josemans said.
Neighbouring Belgian districts have been enraged by the prospect of coffee shops on their doorsteps.
The Belgium district of Voeren (pronounce Vooren), is located 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) South of Maastricht. About 4,500 inhabitants live in the six villages forming the district for six churches and one secondary school.
Despite its quiet appearances, Voeren has the highest level of crime of any countryside district in Belgium and ranks seventh in term of criminality after the country's main cities, including reckless driving, thefts or burglaries.
Huub Broers (pronounce Hub Broors), the mayor of Voeren, said seventy to ninety percent of the crimes are linked to the drug problem.
Broers has been campaigning against the relocalisation of the coffee shops as he fears their proximity will bring even more crimes in the villages.
''There will be even more criminality. Because those who surrounds the coffee shops in the city centre will move with the coffee shops, so we will face a surplus of criminality. And that's what we are afraid of,'' Broers said.
Voeren residents are equally reluctant to the possibility of having those new neighbours.
''The solution should be a general ban on the sale of soft drugs, but you need an international approach and some political courage to implement this in the three countries, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium,'' Jose Tossens (pronounce Tossenss), a teacher, said sitting in the cafe opposite Voeren church.
Last month, Voeren and neighbouring districts forced Maastricht to back down after winning a legal challenge.
The Dutch city has now put forward a watered down proposal to place two coffee shops in a single "coffee corner" at it's southern edge for a trial period of three years.
But it's neighbours are still not happy.
About 80 percent of the Maastricht's coffee shops customers are foreign, of which about 60 percent from Belgium and 20 percent each from France and Germany. In the coffee shops of VOCM, leaflets can be found in French, German, Dutch and English.
Belgium argues the Netherlands is exporting its soft drugs policy and the problems that come with it.
Back in Maastricht, Josemans calls those claims hypocritical.
''I think the attitude of Belgium and France is hypocritical. They are actually the ones exporting their drug problems to the Netherlands. We are not exporting it, they are. We in the Netherlands are taking our responsibilities,'' Josemans said.
But there are some contradictions on the Dutch side too: while selling cannabis is legal, buying it or growing it is still outlawed.
Josemans says studies showing that the Netherlands have fewer cannabis users than the European average and a particularly low level among young people are a sign of the success of the Dutch stance.
Still the Dutch have cracked down on coffee shops of which there are now around 700, compared with around 1,200 in 1997. In Maastricht, all customers must prove they are at least 18 years old as they entered and there are plans to bring in finger scanners to ensure no one buys more than 5 grams per day.
In Belgium, the rules have softened. Possession of up to 3 grams (0.1 ounces) of cannabis - or a single plant - is not prosecuted, but it is illegal to sell resin, plants or seeds. Police can still confiscate small bags.
Josemans said there is a trend across Europe showing a lesser degree of tolerance.
''The European citizen is becoming less and less tolerant, towards foreigners, towards people with a different opinions, another sexual orientation, those who like a joint or even those sniffing coke in a recreative way. But we can maintain the current system. If you control it tightly, if you set up limits and the authorities manage the right level of control, then our system can be maintained. But the threshold of tolerance is lowering,'' Josemans said.
In Maastricht, the fourteen coffee shops employ 265 people and their customers spend approximately 30 million Euros as they visit the town. Because it's an illegal product, the coffee shops' owners don't pay any VAT, but they are liable to profit tax. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None