The end of Amsterdam weekends?
Discussion
I think the tulip growers who thought this would be a good idea should pop over to Ibiza or any other place full of drunken tourists, and perhaps compare the scene of depravity with that of Amsterdam, which has a much more honourable reputation than any resort famed for cheap beer and alcopops.
FFS, what is the world coming to?
FFS, what is the world coming to?
A lex said:
Locals who like to smoke will not be affected as NL residents can register at the shops and continue to use them - this is designed to push out the undesirables.
Free trade across Europe but only if you are Dutch.Perhaps the rest of Europe could trade to everyone except the Dutch to keep out the undesirables.
A lex said:
A lot of this is down to a chap called Gerd Leers, who used to be the Mayor of Maastricht and was elected in to National Parliament at the G.E. last year.
Leers has already pioneered this scheme in Maastricht and the region of Limburg as a whole (I used to live in Maastricht, but moved out in to the countryside last year). As far as I am concerned (and most people in Limburg) getting rid of most of the coffee shops and restricting access mainly to locals has had a positive effect on the city and region.
It was a complete PITA every Fri and Sat night as 1000s of 'hoody' French, Belgian, and German spotty youths in s
t heap cars descended on the city - you would regularly be approached in the streets to buy weed or feel intimidated by gangs or marauding youths - which is something quite alien to The Netherlands. It was a big drain on Police resources and was an undercurrent to general petty crime.
Leers experiment with the border towns in Limburg was seen as a big success and he campaigned (successfully) on this issue when entering parliament, so its plainly something a lot of people in NL are in favour of.
Locals who like to smoke will not be affected as NL residents can register at the shops and continue to use them - this is designed to push out the undesirables.
Granted the situation may be slightly different in Amsterdam as it mainly deals with 'tourists', but it will be of great relief to millions of people living in border towns all over NL.
Maastricht was always a special case due to its location. Quite a few of my German friends pop over once in a while. In my younger days, I used to stop over for a day on my way back from Germany every summer but there were always dodgy looking/acting French youths by the river.Leers has already pioneered this scheme in Maastricht and the region of Limburg as a whole (I used to live in Maastricht, but moved out in to the countryside last year). As far as I am concerned (and most people in Limburg) getting rid of most of the coffee shops and restricting access mainly to locals has had a positive effect on the city and region.
It was a complete PITA every Fri and Sat night as 1000s of 'hoody' French, Belgian, and German spotty youths in s
t heap cars descended on the city - you would regularly be approached in the streets to buy weed or feel intimidated by gangs or marauding youths - which is something quite alien to The Netherlands. It was a big drain on Police resources and was an undercurrent to general petty crime.Leers experiment with the border towns in Limburg was seen as a big success and he campaigned (successfully) on this issue when entering parliament, so its plainly something a lot of people in NL are in favour of.
Locals who like to smoke will not be affected as NL residents can register at the shops and continue to use them - this is designed to push out the undesirables.
Granted the situation may be slightly different in Amsterdam as it mainly deals with 'tourists', but it will be of great relief to millions of people living in border towns all over NL.
Alex, how long did did Leers impliment this scheme in Maastricht? I had friends go over in the past year and past couple of months and they had no problems purchasing anything!
Galsia said:
They are just shooting themselves in the foot. They can kid themselves all they want but the only reason the vast majority of tourists go to Amsterdam is for the drugs ard the red light district.
They will loose billions in tourism money...
+1They will loose billions in tourism money...
The large majority going to Amsterdam wanting to try a coffee shop while they're there (me) are concerned of what might happen if they go too mad and only want to try it out a little. Also, I don't understand the problem they think they have with the red light district either, most go there to just have a look. It's like going to the zoo.
When i went over back in 2009, staying in a border town, the news from our Dutch friends then was that they were trying to close down or restrict the shops near the border. This was to do with French, Belgian and Germans simply driving over the border to buy weed, and contributing nothing.
I think those of you who think that the RLD and the coffee shops are the main reason for amsterdams existence haven't really been. They're part of the experience, but there's alot of other stuff to do in and around Amsterdam which doesn't touch those two.
I think those of you who think that the RLD and the coffee shops are the main reason for amsterdams existence haven't really been. They're part of the experience, but there's alot of other stuff to do in and around Amsterdam which doesn't touch those two.
maniac0796 said:
This was to do with French, Belgian and Germans simply driving over the border to buy weed, and contributing nothing.
Coffee shops are tax paying business's. Therefore all these people going to msterdam just to buy weed ARE contributing to the finances of the country! Plus they have to eat lots 
BBC said:
A ban on some foreign tourists has come into force in the cannabis-selling coffee shops of the Dutch border city of Maastricht.
City authorities say the influx of tourists buying soft drugs is threatening public order and causing major traffic problems.
Coffee shop owners say the ban won't work and will hit the local economy.
However, the ban does not apply to visitors from Germany and Belgium who are the majority of foreign customers.
The move comes ahead of a proposed nationwide crackdown being discussed in the Dutch parliament.
The BBC's Anna Holligan says the ban is being seen as a test case that could be implemented in other Dutch towns and cities.
There are about 700 coffee shops in the Netherlands. The cultivation and sale of soft drugs through them is decriminalised although not legal.
An estimated 6,000 people visit Maastricht's coffee shops every day - most making the quick trip across the border from Belgium and Germany.
But from Saturday, anyone who doesn't hold a Dutch, Belgian or German passport will be told to leave.
Hi-tech security scanners have been set up to check passports and ID cards, and police will carry out random checks.
City authorities say drug tourists pose a threat to public order.
'Revenue lost'
But critics of the policy say the ban contravenes EU policies of equality and the freedom of movement.
Marc Josemans, chairman of the Association of Official Coffee Shops Maastricht (VOCM), said the ban would do more harm than good.
"All these clients who are banned from the Dutch coffee shops... have to return to the illegal circuit in their own country, therefore it will become a bigger problem and cause more criminality in those countries," he told Reuters.
VOCM says visitors attracted by the coffee shops also spend an estimated 140m euros (£120m) elsewhere in the city every year.
Correspondents say the Dutch justice ministry wants coffee shops to operate like members' only clubs, serving only local residents.
The European Court of Justice ruled last December that Dutch authorities could bar foreigners from cannabis-selling coffee shops because they were combating drug tourism.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15134669City authorities say the influx of tourists buying soft drugs is threatening public order and causing major traffic problems.
Coffee shop owners say the ban won't work and will hit the local economy.
However, the ban does not apply to visitors from Germany and Belgium who are the majority of foreign customers.
The move comes ahead of a proposed nationwide crackdown being discussed in the Dutch parliament.
The BBC's Anna Holligan says the ban is being seen as a test case that could be implemented in other Dutch towns and cities.
There are about 700 coffee shops in the Netherlands. The cultivation and sale of soft drugs through them is decriminalised although not legal.
An estimated 6,000 people visit Maastricht's coffee shops every day - most making the quick trip across the border from Belgium and Germany.
But from Saturday, anyone who doesn't hold a Dutch, Belgian or German passport will be told to leave.
Hi-tech security scanners have been set up to check passports and ID cards, and police will carry out random checks.
City authorities say drug tourists pose a threat to public order.
'Revenue lost'
But critics of the policy say the ban contravenes EU policies of equality and the freedom of movement.
Marc Josemans, chairman of the Association of Official Coffee Shops Maastricht (VOCM), said the ban would do more harm than good.
"All these clients who are banned from the Dutch coffee shops... have to return to the illegal circuit in their own country, therefore it will become a bigger problem and cause more criminality in those countries," he told Reuters.
VOCM says visitors attracted by the coffee shops also spend an estimated 140m euros (£120m) elsewhere in the city every year.
Correspondents say the Dutch justice ministry wants coffee shops to operate like members' only clubs, serving only local residents.
The European Court of Justice ruled last December that Dutch authorities could bar foreigners from cannabis-selling coffee shops because they were combating drug tourism.
It's a plan but I can't see how they could enforce it..I mean what if you just 'pop' in for a coffee and the Dutch bloke sat next to you just happened to be rolling a joint or has a bag of weed or two on his table...start up a friendly conversation then Bob's your uncle..
Otherwise if they 'ban' any other EU national from entering a coffee shop has to be illegal as imagine if you put a sign in your window stating 'No foreigners'...
May make good headlines and get a few votes but in practice it'll be impossible to enforce.
As someone else has stated when has anyone been threatened by a bunch of stoned people...rather than walking into a UK pub after a footy match has been on....
Otherwise if they 'ban' any other EU national from entering a coffee shop has to be illegal as imagine if you put a sign in your window stating 'No foreigners'...
May make good headlines and get a few votes but in practice it'll be impossible to enforce.
As someone else has stated when has anyone been threatened by a bunch of stoned people...rather than walking into a UK pub after a footy match has been on....
A lex said:
Good, it will stop the (mainly) French idiots from filling the town on a Friday and Saturday night and basically wrecking the place.
If you live in Maastricht (or the environs) and have proof or residence it doesnt matter what nationality you are, you will still be served because you are local.
Its easy to criticise but I think you'll find it has the support of the vast majority of the locals, which in the end are exactly the people the council / mayor are there to serve.
It doesn't matter if the locals support it or not, it matters if it's legal.If you live in Maastricht (or the environs) and have proof or residence it doesnt matter what nationality you are, you will still be served because you are local.
Its easy to criticise but I think you'll find it has the support of the vast majority of the locals, which in the end are exactly the people the council / mayor are there to serve.
Edited by A lex on Sunday 2nd October 11:51
I imagine that there are parts of the world where locals would happily vote to not allow any black people to live, but that wouldn't make it right to allow.
I can see the EU turning a blind eye, mind, as it's shutting down access to something that they'd likely prefer to ban anyway.
A lex said:
Im sorry but its not same, and crass to make the comparison IMO.
Why is it not the same? In both cases we are talking about discriminating against people on the basis of "you're not from round here, are you?"I work in an investment bank, and we have a few Dutch in the London office, would it be fine for me to replace them with Londoners?
If my local pub decided to only serve locals, would that be fine, too?
Why is it acceptable to sell to/employ/serve some Europeans but not others in what is supposed to be a free market? Why, if you accept that it's allowable, can people not also discriminate on other grounds, such as skin colour?
Edited to add, your comment above about the French is exactly on a par with a landlord saying "I don't want any Pakistanis coming in here". If you want to discriminate based on an accident of birth, then don't get upset when you are picked up on it.
Edited by NorthernBoy on Sunday 2nd October 13:09
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