THE FUTURE OF THE COFFEE SHOP

Over the last years the number of coffee shops in Maastricht is cut in half. The Maastricht coffee shop association states that the illegal sales in the street is increasing, where other kinds of drugs are offered as well. It seems that the Dutch health approach, dividing the soft- and hard drugs markets, is failing at a moment that many other countries in the world slowly start to adopt the successful decriminalising Dutch soft drugs policy. In Maastricht the moment finally arrived for the Mayor to move some of the coffee shops to the side of town, to diminish the annoyance caused by the large number of soft-drug tourists.

The city of Maastricht and some members of parliament came with the manifest of Maastricht in 2005. One of the main points in the manifesto is the starting with experiments to regulate the illegal cultivation of Dutch cannabis. To fight the annoyance of the vast illegal cannabis cultivation in poor quarters and to solve the so-called ‘backdoor’ problem (semi-legal to buy 5 grams of soft drugs through from door, but illegal supply of soft drugs via backdoor).   

But since the Rotterdam city council decided to use the new coffee shop rules from the new government to the ultimate. It means that most of the coffee shops will have to close, because they are far too close to a school. The owners of these coffee shops are not amused. Specialist say that it will promote dealing of soft drugs by youngsters. The Maastricht coffee shop association and the mayor fear that their long fight for a more liberal Dutch policy on sales and cultivation of cannabis is wrecked by the new conservative legal guidelines from the national authorities. Some of the Maastricht coffee shops are already moved to the side of town. In temporary porta cabins they will have to await what will happen in the near future. Will the porta cabin coffee shop simply be taken away, or will new build coffee shops appear near the Belgian and German borders?

DUTCH COFFEE SHOPS: SMOKE HERE TO STAY? read more (reuters.com)
HIGH LIFE UNDER THREAT read more (radionetherlands.nl)
SUMMERIES CANNABIS RESESARCH DUTCH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT read more
CANNABIS, THE SYNDROME OF DUTCH LEGISLATOR read more (drugtext.org)

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March 25, 2008