Europe: Dutch Border Province Cannabis Coffee Shops to Go "Members Only" in Bid to Dampen "Drug Tourism"
Bowing to complaints about "drug tourists" from more repressive neighboring countries flooding into Dutch border towns to cop weed at their conveniently located cannabis coffee shops, mayors in the border province of Limburg have announced that the Limburg cannabis cafes will be "members only" beginning next year. The move was made by the mayors of the eight Limburg towns that host cafes, led by Maastricht Mayor Gerd Leers.

downstairs of a coffee shop, Maastricht (courtesy Wikimedia)
Limburg lies in the southeast of the Netherlands, bordering Belgium and Germany and not far from France. Some four million foreigners a year travel to Limburg to buy cannabis, said a local official. Those "drug tourists" have caused problems with traffic congestion, public order, crime, and harder drug use and sales.
Foreigners will not be barred from becoming cannabis coffee shop members -- that would violate European Union law -- but like everyone else, they will have to apply for membership in an application that will take several days to process. All customers will also have to now pay with a debit or credit card and will be limited to buying three grams a day anywhere in the province, two less than provided for under Dutch law.
The restrictions in Limburg come in a broader context of pressure against the coffee shops nationwide. The conservative national government is hostile but committed to not acting against them until after new elections, but as with the mayors in Limburg, municipalities are putting on the squeeze.
According to a survey conducted for the Justice Ministry, the number of cafes declined by 3.7% between 2005 and 2007 to 702 nationwide. Some 88 cafes were cited for violations of the codes surrounding their operation, while three were closed permanently because of those violations.
It might be a matter of respect.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 12:53pmWhat it might be is a matter of respect
or
may i say privilages taken for granted.
Let me make this statement clear:
I'm a weed smoker,and i love doing it.
and
I believe it helps you medically.
I would love to do Shrooms some of these days.
Now i'm 39 yrs old
and
When i go places,i do my best to appreciatte,the right to smoke weed and do shrooms.
Like respecting the coffee houses that have shrooms and weed available.
Like playing cards,having great and fun conversation.
But
Most of all i do my best to be a blessing to the establishments,conutries,and places that let me smoke Weed and do Shrooms.
I do stuff that make them want me back,that brings happness to them when i come
Not
Dreadfulness,or ohh shit here comes the motley crue.
But
Then you have the Drug Tourists.
These are like your 18 to 24 yr olds,the College Crowd.
They just got out of Mom and Dad's nest.
Their here on a European Vacation,
And
Their there for one thing,Partying!!!
Which is nice and awesome.
Hey,we'll that way when we're that age.
Hell i always love having fun.
But
Even i was at their age Partying and having fun.
I still made a effort to respect where i was having fun.
And
Let the people who was throwing the party know,the establishment that i was doing the partying at.
Know that i appreciate and am thankful for the oppertunity to be partying.
For Example:i picked up after myself,and emptied my Weed ashtrays in the trash,throw my beer cans in the trash.
Another example:When i took a chair out of the table,by the end of the night made sure it was put back where i got it.
Example:When i partied i made sure the music was as loud as needed to be
But
Not blaring way too loud,where it wakes up the neighbors.
Many other examples.
But
A problem with many of the Drug Tourists is:
This Attitude,each to his own.
Which is"I'm going to have fun,i don't care who's expense it comes at".
Whether if i have to break jukeboxes,i leave the tables messy and in shambles.
Whether i spray mustard on the walls of the Coffee houses.
or
Whether we throw eggs at each other
and
Splatter egg yokes on the walls.
And
The biggest kicker"We're not offering to clean up after ourselves,hell that's the establishment's job".
Plus sometimes after leaving the mess,Junior and his Rugg Rat Crew don't even leave a tip..
Now maybe all this stuff that i described doesn't even go on.
But
You get the ideal the message i'm pointing out.
The Biggest reason,is understanding where the coffeehouses and The Dutch
have to put Members Only in their Coffeehouses.












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When did tourism become a bad thing?
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 6:34pmMost cities would jump up and down with joy at the thought of 4,000,000 tourists a year. It should be great for the economy. I strongly doubt that the number of incidents with "drug tourists" costs the city more than a tiny fraction of the income tourism brings in.
If they'd loosen the restrictions on how much a visitor could buy, they'd probably make fewer trips a year, thus reducing congestion while only slightly impacting the city's income. Reducing the amount that can be purchased on any one trip will undoubtedly cause people to come to Limburg more often.