Fri, 19 March 2010
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Meddy Willemsen, 58, is being prosecuted with 16 others, including a manager of his Checkpoint coffee shop in Terneuzen near the Belgian border and local suppliers, for allegedly having kept more than the permitted amount of cannabis on site.
Though technically illegal, the Netherlands decriminalised the consumption and possession of under five grammes (0.18 ounces) of cannabis in 1976 under a so-called "tolerance policy".
Cannabis cultivation and mass retail remain illegal and are in the hands of criminal organisations in a black-market business worth some two billion euros (three billion dollars) per year.
There are around 700 licensed coffee shops in the Netherlands which are allowed to keep no more than 500 grammes of cannabis on their premises, though this limit is often flouted.
The trial is widely seen as a test case in a country that has been toughening its stance on soft drug use.
AFP/ExpaticaMany people, anxious to know more about whisky, will have already attended a Malcolm Andrews Whisky “Nosing & Tasting”. Among such fans, much interest has been shown in going further in their quest for knowledge.
Experience THE community fair for internationals and expatriates living and working in Belgium, on Sunday 6 June and 17 October 2010.
Stay up to date with the news - without having to speak the local language.
This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.
Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.
Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.
The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.
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