Holland maybe closing down “the Coffee-shops”
>from Telegraaf.nl
To all the Americans, Canadians and the “where-ever-you-come-from-touristâ€; be careful with getting your ticket to the Netherlands….. specially the ones who are thinking of “stayin’ in Amsterdam in a sleazy hotel for 5 daysâ€â€¦.
The Christian part of our (Dutch) Government are talking about closing all the coffeeshops….
No no no……., they are not thinking about closing the 2 Starbucks on Schiphol Airport….. No…. I am not talking about the coffee-shop where you can “only buy coffeeâ€â€¦..
I am talking about the ones who sell “grass’ – “weed†– “hashâ€.
Well; I am not saying you have to cancel your ticket……. But if ya really coming for the “grass’ – “weed†– “hash†= it could be smarter to do that in your own country. Over there you probably “know your dealerâ€â€¦â€¦.
Over here in Holland….. – “the smokers†need to find their “new dealerâ€â€¦â€¦ probably it will be the same guy who is selling “the coke†– “the pills†– “the acid†to the few junkies (in comparison with your country) now-a-days…..
Yep – the “grass-smokersâ€Â in Holland will come to a new phase in their lives…. They will be doing something illegal….. and yes – then you need to go to the “hard core dealersâ€â€¦..
Fair enough uh…??? Pay the full price…. with all the risk off buying even weirder stuff then the first intention where…
And do you know why those Christian Parties believe that these coffee-shops need to close..??
Because they get their supply via ILLEGAL WAYS…..
And you know why the coffee shops do that…??? Because THERE IS NO LEGAL WAY…..
What about; legalize the trade of “grass’ – “weed†– “hash†– including the growing etc…??
Get taxes from that also…..
In stead of;
* closing down all the coffee-shops and put all their people without jobs…..
* make the illegal dealer have a bigger share – without getting taxes out of it
* risking the “normal users†to get in touch with the “hard stuffâ€
* and get the same amount of junkies and hard drugs users as the rest of the “civilized worldâ€â€¦.
** and for the people who are curious; no – I am not a hardcore weedsmoking nerd = I am just political involved **
Technorati Tags: weed,hash,coke,holland,telegraaf.nl,starbucks
Mind you though, it’s not getting banned, nor has the government / cabinet coalition moved to ban coffeeshops yet. It’s just an idea suggested by one (slightly prominent) member of the Christian Democrats, possibly backed by more people. I’m sure they disagree within their party and they will meet a lot of resistance in the Dutch parliament.
However, the ban of smoking in bars, the move to ban magic mushrooms, and the closing of some coffeeshops near the border of Holland, has made the future of coffeeshops in Holland in a dark place :-\
It would be absolutely stupid to ban them (like mushrooms). As independent research (from various teams of scientists) has shown that it will lead to more problems (health and crime-wise) if these things are illegalized.
Well; it seems that from other fronts there are also people who would vote for “closing down”…..
As a nonsmoker I do not have problems with the nonsmoking rules for bars/restaurant…. Maybe a good idea to only allow the coffeeshops to have smokers…??? ==> the non-alcoholic establishments…..
We will see – I would say for Holland; “time for change”……
Efforts have been made in Canada to amend the law with regard to possession and not making it a criminal offence for possession of small amounts (up to 15 grams). It still hasn’t passed, but police here are using discretion in charging people. In Vancouver, there are cafes where people smoke openly.
I’m not a user myself, but I have smoked, and I think it should be made legal or at the very least that possession does not give someone a criminal record.
I do not think it will happen, the coffee shops will stay open, even the non-smoking law has not stopped a lot, I guess time will tell.
That would take the fun out of it all!! I’ve never been to Holland and I’ve always wanted to visit Amsterdam. Sounds like my kind of place.
@ Robin
In Holland they “allow you to have….” weed. It is not a right and officially still “illegal”….. They just allow the possession of a certain amount. To make it legal in Holland – you also have to allow the growing and “larger trade” (how else can a coffee shop get his weed..??)etc…. = that is the step I think we should make…. instead of closing it all down….
@Tiddles
Today it was even in the news that mushroom will be forbidden as from the 1st of December… So maybe closing the Coffeeshops will be the next step….
@Lady.Magick
As a lot of Dutch would say; your sentence is wrong !!
If you would like to go to Holland – Amsterdam is NOT the place to go to. As that is not showing Holland….
Tourist who only go to Amsterdam (in my opinion) did not visit Holland…. It is just like me going only to Disney World – and call that “visiting the USA”……
Holland is more than just Amsterdam…. and don’t worry; if you just go for coffeeshop – you will find them in all villages and cities of more than 15,000 citizens….
Nee toch? Hehhe To be honest I have lived in Holland for more than 4 years but never even stepped foot on these “coffee shops”.
I also heard that they are planning to close the red light district, is that true?
@Jade
Wellllll….. for what I heard (**fake smile**) they closed about 30-40% of the red lighted windows in Amsterdam…. A full closure is (probably) not going to happen….. but way less; yes!