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May 18, 2013
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 Netherlands Closing Pot Shops to TouristsPosted on May 28, 2011
Marking the end of a long era of tolerance for certain drugs in the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s legendary “coffee shops” will soon stop admitting foreigners as the Dutch government prepares to ban tourists from cafes that sell marijuana. The plan, which will turn the shops into private clubs, is the product of a more conservative national coalition government and a growing desire among Dutch leaders to change the country’s reputation and decrease drug use. Opponents of the new policy, including the mayor of Amsterdam, claim that visitors will still seek out marijuana and that the black market will grow to accommodate them. There is also a concern about the impact of new regulations on the Dutch economy, as taxes on marijuana account for more than $600 million in annual revenue. —KDG
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By Wow, January 7, 2012 at 9:53 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
@bt: The rudeness and drunks in party areas is true, but that’s mainly by and as a reaction to drug tourists. Most of the anti-social behavior comes from other drug tourists and the people that hate them. You guys are not really liked here, because you’re nothing but trouble for everyone but the coffeeshops. This was also the reason why this new law was aimed at tourist, because they’re the actual assholes fucking things up for the rest of us (like getting mushrooms banned, thanks again for that, shitheads), because too many of you guys lack any kind of self control and just go completely out of your mind the moment the plane hits the ground.
Now, that shit about us being racists must be the biggest ignorant bullshit I’ve ever heard. Just for once you should get the facts straight before you make some stupid rash judgement on an entire country based on nothing but a single visit to a fucking drug and party zone. Get that fat head out of your ass for once and look at the racism in your own country before you dare say something about others. Our country is known for it’s tolerance and serves as an example to most of the world in most of our ways, which can’t be said for America, which is actually known for it’s lack of tolerance. Actually, just the fact that you immediately see racism because some people having black makeup is saying a lot more about your racist-oriented mind than this innocent childrens-fest of ours. Maybe, if you didn’t smoke so much weed and actually had an interest beyond getting high you could have learned stuff like that, perhaps became a little open minded, instead of so self-absorbed.. You dare calling us stupid, but how well do you speak a second language if you speak one at all? And how do you explain our higher average national IQ? ..Tough questions, I know..
Then again, you shouldn’t think about that too much, ignorance is bliss, isn’t it? Just don’t be surprised if that backfires some day, which is usually does..
Report thisBy an actually dutch guy, October 14, 2011 at 3:03 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
damn some of the shit you people say is stupid\
to start things off
Report thisthis is not going to happen
and Holland has without a doubt the best weed in the world
you getting ripped of in some tourist trap in amsterdam doesn’t negate decades of legal growing experience
By PatrickHenry, October 2, 2011 at 9:50 am Link to this comment
Mo’Hip
Christian/reichwing socialists.
Report thisBy bt, October 2, 2011 at 4:07 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I went to the cannabis cup in 2005 with a friend. We each spent $5,000 for a months stay, but were severely disappointed. The quality of the weed was terrible, (much better in Seattle,WA.), and except for the staff of the coffee shops, a lot of Dutch are rude and arrogant, not to mention racially prejudice - (check out their Christmas traditions, probable the only country that still tolerates the use of “black face” costumes.)
Report thisI WOULD NEVER GO BACK AND I’M SORRY I EVER WENT.
BAD (NOT GOOD) WEED.
RUDE PEOPLE.
LAND OF GREEDY INTERNATIONAL BANKERS.
Stupid people, alcohol is the problem, not weed. Puke and feces all over the sidewalks from DRUNKS.
By Mo'Hip, May 30, 2011 at 9:23 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
@PatrickHenry :
it’s not the socialist you dumbwit its the christian/rightwing asses thats closing our coffeeshops
Report thisduhh…
By SomeGuy, May 29, 2011 at 4:11 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I wonder if this will hold up in the courts? The EU is almost like one big country now to a certain extent. They have provisions in their laws making it illegal to discriminate against people from other EU countries, similar to the way our Constitution says that citizens from other states have the same rights and liberties and so on as anyone else in a state they are visiting. One state can’t make laws prohibiting people from oput of state from visiting their bars, casinos or whatever. I don’t know that the Dutch government will be able to deny people from other EU countries these membership cards. If this “members only” policy doesn’t stop French and Belgians and Brits and Germans and so on from becoming members, then there really wouldn’t be much point in this program.
This will be interesting to watch.
Report thisBy Gary Mont, May 28, 2011 at 9:53 pm Link to this comment
anaman51: This is a sad day…
Actually, they know the plant is harmless and constitutes no threat to health and most of them smoke it themselves. Hell most of them import the stuff for sale in America. But that’s the point. Like Child Pornography and Prostitution, the wealthy believe only the wealthy should be allowed to partake of these vices, so they must remain expensive to keep out the riff raff and maintain the market value. Similarly, to legalize pot means huge losses in revenue for the importers and large scale commercial growers due entirely to the drop in value of pot once legalized. The sales of alcohol would plummet. The DEA would lose its billion dollar a month budget. Politicians would lose the best demon ever invented to scare the superstitious peasants with at election time. The only way to keep pot expensive and exclusive is to maintain a tight fist on its criminality. This is the real reason the “conservatives” in power are against removing the laws against pot.
Report thisBy Gary Mont, May 28, 2011 at 9:41 pm Link to this comment
Not at all unexpected, and in fact it took far longer than I’d expected. The real reason for eliminating tourist access is quite simple of course.
Report thisThe longer cannabis remains available to people, the greater the number of people who realize that the US Federal Government is absolutely lying to them about cannabis.
The longer cannabis remains available to people, the fewer the number of people using extremely addictive and harmful drugs like crack, speed and junk - causing a loss of profit to their manufacturers, the US pharmaceutical industry.
The longer cannabis remains available to people, the fewer people will suffer epileptic seizures and massive physical damage from heart-attack induced strokes.
The longer cannabis is available to people, the more people will investigate the plant and discover such things as its anti-tumor properties and myriad other medicinal uses.
In simplest possible terms, out of sight, out of mind.
Legalization could easily destroy a large number of criminal corporations overnight and end the lucrative multi-billion dollar hole-in-the-ocean its illegality allows the forces of prohibition.
By Harlowe Thrombey, May 28, 2011 at 8:31 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Stupid Right Wing American-types are taking over Dutch government.
Report thisBy anaman51, May 28, 2011 at 7:14 pm Link to this comment
This is a sad day. For a little while on this hateful planet, there was a single place where one’s personal freedoms could be freely indulged, with no harm coming to anyone. I am saddened that these idiotic conservatives still cannot comprehend that the marijuana-smoking public is not the criminal element portrayed by generations of lying public officials. For the most part, they are peace-loving individuals who enjoy life. By and large, they live their quiet lives, work at their jobs, mind their own affairs and cause no one any grief. It’s time to take the jackboot off their collective neck.
Report thisBy scallywag, May 28, 2011 at 6:50 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
So next time you head over to the Netherlands be sure to bypass the coffee shops
and head to the local residents where they will be waiting for you with open arms
to sell you the good shit. So much for creating the coffee shops to harness the
illegal distribution of marijuana to begin with…
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/05/the-netherlands-to-ban-tourists-
Report thisfrom-marijuana-coffee-shops/
By storkfmny, May 28, 2011 at 6:44 pm Link to this comment
California could use the tourist’s money since the economy here is in the tank, feeding and housing and jailing millions of illegal immigrants.
Report thisBy thethirdman, May 28, 2011 at 6:25 pm Link to this comment
Maybe California’s board of tourism could remarket themselves as a new pot
Report thistourism destination. Food, wine, and weed. I’d go.
By Peter Knopfler, May 28, 2011 at 5:05 pm Link to this comment
I JUST TALKED TO SOME CANADIAN TRAVELERS 15 years
Report thisgoing to pot friendly Amsterdam, 3 X ST:ANDREW. POT
AND SEX THAT IS ALL, ONE DOWN; HOOKERS WILL SELL
POT:TAXI WILL SELL POT, MORE WET TOWELS BY THE DOOR-
FLOOR: THE BOOZE PEOPLE CORPORATE CORPSES ARE LOSING
MONEY BUY POT. MONEY CRUNCH sell more snooze on
booze, POT OUT OF LUCK.
500,000 deaths related Tobacco, 400,000, dead related
alcohol, 25,000 dead prescription drugs another
18,000 dead street drugs, ALL THIS YEARLY YES EVERY
YEAR. POT NO DEATHS IN 5000 YEARS of CANNABIS. SO WHO
ARE THE IDIOTS HERE:
By PatrickHenry, May 28, 2011 at 4:01 pm Link to this comment
Damn socialists.
Report thisBy Russian Paul, May 28, 2011 at 1:42 pm Link to this comment
that’ll kill tourism, take a huge chunk out of the economy…what’s the benefit
Report thishere? does someone profit from increasing restrictions? it’s rather strange. lucky
for us californians, arnold decriminalized it and in the northern part of CA we get
the best strains in the world. amsterdam weed is extremely overrated!