Clear up on the 'ban' situation.

[RichmondGreen]

To put it plainly... Coffee shops are still open to tourists.

3 Dutch provinces, Limburg, Brabant and Zeeland, you will need a weed pass to smoke in the coffee shops. These weed passes are available to residents only unfortunately but luckily they aren't in main tourist areas. If this ban on tourists continues in these three provinces then the rest of the Dutch provinces will take the weed pass into effect as of 1st Jan 2013. There has been massive uprises against this rule though, as it provides fear that underground drug dealing will start to occur. So I guess we just wait and see.

Also, there is a concept law that I've only just heard about... the 15% THC rule... which prevents the coffee shops selling weed with THC content over 15%... pretty self explanatory I guess.

Source: Grey Area

Hope this helps

RG

[loveplants]

I reckon if the ban does happen and the coffee shops actually demand to see id cards , which will lead to them losing money , then Spain will take over . What will be a huge loss for the Dutch tourism, would be a much welcome boost for the Spanish!

I'd much rather it stay in Amsterdam though, love the place, Might end up just moving there

Only bad thing about living there would be it would be quite hard for me to have a break from smoking which i like cos it makes it better when i start again!

[Elephant Face]

Just a couple more spins in the skuff maker then i guess, how would they inforce....

Certain strains illegal or tests on bud...

What a joke would be near impossible and what about the bubble hash.

Spain does not have coffees shops or not like Holland. Or none i have seen just clubs type thongs, its still illegal to deal just growing personal amounts outdoors seems tolerated. You wouldnt want to fuck with the Guarda Civil eithier.

[blowsterke]

The Dutch Coffeeshops are not what they used to be.

There should be a medical Warehouse in every State, available for everyone, controlled.

There is a lot of dirty cannabis going around everywhere.

I am living in Brabant, shops are allready closing, because there are no members.

The people do not want to registrate themselves for the government, to use it against them. :wallbash: :wallbash:

[Bad Penny.]

You wouldnt want to fuck with the Guarda Civil

We call them the gordon and cyrils because we sort of had a run in with them,my mate was p*ssed as a newt and said "Fuck,its the gordon and cyrils" They are a lot worse than UK plod in general

[Elephant Face]

The Dutch Coffeeshops are not what they used to be.

There should be a medical Warehouse in every State, available for everyone, controlled.

There is a lot of dirty cannabis going around everywhere.

I am living in Brabant, shops are allready closing, because there are no members.

The people do not want to registrate themselves for the government, to use it against them. :wallbash: :wallbash:

Coffeeshops to expensive you got the right idea, love your garden, if only we could in UK with bit less risk.

You wouldnt want to fuck with the Guarda Civil

We call them the gordon and cyrils because we sort of had a run in with them,my mate was p*ssed as a newt and said "Fuck,its the gordon and cyrils" They are a lot worse than UK plod in general

The local police are pretty easy going, where my mums village is local police person is women, no problems.

[johnnyneuro]

You wouldnt want to fuck with the Guarda Civil

We call them the gordon and cyrils because we sort of had a run in with them,my mate was p*ssed as a newt and said "Fuck,its the gordon and cyrils" They are a lot worse than UK plod in general

"Los civiles", ironically, are not a civil organisation - they're actually part of the military.

[xXEXCALABERXx]

There is also to be an election which the current lot may loose and it could be scrapped.

The police in amsterdam will strike over this move and not enforce it

[blowsterke]

Not many people are going to the coffeeshops in Brabant en Limburg now......

I hope the new government which has to be chosen on the second of september will recall the wietpas

Edited August 29, 2012 by blowsterke

[Fat Charlie]

We were about to book a few days in Amsterdam in February, the weed pass is definitely coming into effect for Amsterdam in January then?

should I not bother?

[moggggys]

never had a bad moment with the spanish cops , always found them friendly and honest

as for the coffee shops , i heard someone local walked into a licence only coffee shop last week and was served regardless , nothing was asked for at all , lets say with the accent ( farmer boyyyy ) he couldnt be mistaken for anyone but english , also heard ( probably not accurate and maybe wishful thinking ) that the shops were looking to boycott the new system when it comes into play , i think this wouldnt last though if they wanted to have a future and its most likely stoners talking shit

[moggggys]

We were about to book a few days in Amsterdam in February, the weed pass is definitely coming into effect for Amsterdam in January then?

should I not bother?

i wouldnt if i were you that is unless you take your own , customs may frown upon that though

im there in novemeber for the cup , last blow out and all that

[Fat Charlie]

shit booked the time off work as well.

[tengreenfingers]

Nothing's definite yet.

There's a good chance there'll be a boycott of the system and if the current government fall in the coming election most (all?) of the opposition parties have said they'll scrap it.

[Fat Charlie]

Dutch coffeeshop owners look to election to kill off 'wietpas' law

''Friday, 24 August 2012 08:14 Written by Amsterdam Herald.

ShareOwners and users of Dutch ‘coffeeshops’ are increasingly hopeful that next month’s election will put an end to the controversial policy to restrict access to cannabis cafes.

The ‘wietpas’ law, which has been in force in the southern provinces since May 1, has become one of the most polarised issues of the campaign.

The parties that made up Mark Rutte’s centre-right cabinet remain committed to the law, which is due to be extended across the country from January 1.

They argue that the liberal Dutch stance on soft drugs has boosted the international criminal trade and failed to address the health problems associated with drug use.

Against them is a growing consensus of left-wing parties that wants to scrap the wietpas. They favour cutting the criminals out of the supply chain by regulating the cultivation and production of cannabis.

With the Socialist Party (SP) holding a narrow lead in the opinion polls, cannabis campaigners hope that the wietpas can be scrapped before January 1 if Emile Roemer’s party leads the next government.

But even if Mark Rutte’s Liberal (VVD) party overtakes the Socialists, it may still come up against a majority in Parliament of parties opposed to the wietpas.

The mainstream left-wing Labour Party (PvdA) also wants to regulate the supply of cannabis, while the centre-left parties D66 and GroenLinks and the 50Plus group, which represents older voters, favour similar reforms.

Marc Josemans, chairman of the Maastricht Association of Coffeeshop Owners (VOCM), said the election gives voters a clear choice and the chance to stop the wietpas in its tracks.

Criminal gangs

Josemans is challenging the law in a case that is expected to come to court early next year, but he is hopeful that the outcome of the vote will make his legal action redundant.

“Things are looking much better now,” he told The Amsterdam Herald. “Even people within the VVD and CDA are starting to ask questions.

“If the votes go the right way on September 12 and we have a majority in Parliament that is against the wietpas, we will no longer need to go to court. The wietpas can be replaced, and certainly before January 1.”

Due to be extended across the country next year, the wietpas measure turns coffeeshops into private clubs whose members must have a permanent address in the Netherlands.

The law is designed to bar foreigners from going into coffeeshops, ending the "drug tourism" that has been a source of tension between the Netherlands and neighbouring countries.

But opponents say that the system has played into the hands of criminal gangs, who have moved in to exploit a demand for cannabis that the regulated market can no longer meet.

Many coffeeshop customers have been reluctant to put their names to an official register and turned instead to the criminal trade.

Josemans said that in Maastricht, one of the cities where the wietpas is already in force, the new rules have already led to a surge in illegal street dealing.

“People have written to the town hall saying life is becoming intolerable, they can't go out into the streets because of the dealers. The police can't deal with the situation.

“People who used to go to coffeeshops don't want to have their names on a register so they’re turning to the black market. We've lost 22,000 people to the illegal trade.

“All these are things that we predicted and could have been prevented.

“Even if we scrap the wietpas after six months, it will take a year and a half to get things back to where we were. The damage has been enormous.

“If the wietpas is extended to the whole country on January 1, the disaster will be complete. We have to prevent that from happening.”