Quote:
Report:
Brits on holiday in Amsterdam will no longer be able to visit the city's
famous coffee shops after the government announced plans to ban tourists
from smoking cannabis from January.
The Netherlands' conservative government says it wants to reverse the
country's image as a "drugs paradise" by only allowing natives to legally
smoke pot in the licensed cafes.
The plans were revealed to Austria, which will take over EU Presidency
from Britain in January, and the United Nations, reported Austrian
broadsheet Der Standard.
Spokesman for the Dutch Justice Ministry, Paul van Voorst, dismissed fears
the legislation changes would lead to a flood of lawsuits from tourists
claiming they were being discriminated against, saying: "You can't sue
against something that is forbidden by law." The number of cannabis
coffee shops in the Netherlands has almost halved in the last five years,
with 750 now open across the country.
Ton Cramer from the Health Ministry said it was becoming increasingly
likely that marihuana would be banned altogether. He said advanced methods
of cultivation of the plant were leading to an increase in the amount of
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient of cannabis, found
in the drug. He said if a current study finds that higher levels of THC
increase personality dysfunctions in the marihuana smokers, then cannabis
could be classified as a hard drug.
The Dutch Justice Ministry has told (METRO) "this is a pilot scheme,
limiting sales only to Dutch natives, will begin in Maastricht in January
and if successful could be spread throughout the country. They are using
Maastricht first because of concerns about Belgians and Germans crossing the
nearby border to buy cannabis, a 'drugs tourism' they are under pressure to
stop. The scheme would be operated by asking for buyers' passports or proof
of Dutch citizenship, or having people register in
advance for permission to buy cannabis.