The Dutch government has pushed back plans to bar non-residents from some of the country's famous cannabis "coffee shops," though officials say the ban will still take effect nationwide - including Amsterdam - in 2013.
Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten said Thursday a test rollout in the southern cities of Noord-Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland will be delayed until May because of "practical difficulties," the Associated Press reports. The cities support the plan, hoping it will solve problems caused by German and Belgians who drive across the border just to buy the drug.
Under a policy announced earlier this year, pot-selling shops will become members-only clubs restricted to Dutch residents over age 18. But Amsterdam is fighting the measure because opponents say it discriminates against foreigners and could lead to a sale of soft drugs on the streets.
"The Dutch government has decided upon this for the whole of the Netherlands. Amsterdam doesn't want it," Machteld Ligtvoet, a spokeswoman from the Amsterdam tourism board told CNN this summer.
"Coffee shops are not actively promoted by our organization and are not used in order to attract tourists," Ligtvoet added. "However, the mere idea that one can buy and use soft drugs here is an attractive aspect of Amsterdam and its famous spirit of freedom."
Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but coffee shop customers can buy up to five grams of cannabis.
Even as the conservative Dutch government toughens its tolerance policy on marijuana,
the AP notes, it is bucking worldwide trends by taking an increasingly relaxed stance toward tobacco smoking.
Last year it exempted some bars from a smoking ban and now plans to cut spending on anti-smoking advertising campaigns and end funding for health care programs to help people kick the habit. Nearly half of the nation's bars and nightclubs flout the 2008 smoking ban but they're rarely punished.
According to the Netherlands' National Organization for Tobacco Trade, Dutch consumers bought more than 4 billion euros ($5 billion) worth of tobacco products last year, the AP says. About 27 percent of people in the Netherlands smoke, slightly higher than other rich countries including Britain and the U.S.
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Source: http://travel.usatoday.com
Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten said Thursday a test rollout in the southern cities of Noord-Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland will be delayed until May because of "practical difficulties," the Associated Press reports. The cities support the plan, hoping it will solve problems caused by German and Belgians who drive across the border just to buy the drug.Under a policy announced earlier this year, pot-selling shops will become members-only clubs restricted to Dutch residents over age 18. But Amsterdam is fighting the measure because opponents say it discriminates against foreigners and could lead to a sale of soft drugs on the streets."The Dutch government has decided upon this for the whole of the Netherlands. Amsterdam doesn't want it," Machteld Ligtvoet, a spokeswoman from the Amsterdam tourism board told CNN this summer."Coffee shops are not actively promoted by our organization and are not used in order to attract tourists," Ligtvoet added. "However, the mere idea that one can buy and use soft drugs here is an attractive aspect of Amsterdam and its famous spirit of freedom."Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but coffee shop customers can buy up to five grams of cannabis.Even as the conservative Dutch government toughens its tolerance policy on marijuana, the AP notes, it is bucking worldwide trends by taking an increasingly relaxed stance toward tobacco smoking.Last year it exempted some bars from a smoking ban and now plans to cut spending on anti-smoking advertising campaigns and end funding for health care programs to help people kick the habit. Nearly half of the nation's bars and nightclubs flout the 2008 smoking ban but they're rarely punished.According to the Netherlands' National Organization for Tobacco Trade, Dutch consumers bought more than 4 billion euros ($5 billion) worth of tobacco products last year, the AP says. About 27 percent of people in the Netherlands smoke, slightly higher than other rich countries including Britain and the U.S.more information...
