topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2117.66 -0.08
DAX 6323.19 -0.26
IBEX 30 6401.2 -2.17
CAC 40 3042.97 -0.16
FTSE 100 5356.34 0.09
AEX 292.76 0.00
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13057.26 -0.74
TSX Composite 11566.15 -0.09
ASX 4134.5 0.35
Hang seng 18791.07 -0.05
Straits Times 2785.17 -0.07
ISEQ 20 501.76 0.16
You are here: Home News Community News Dutch coffeeshops to challenge cannabis ban again
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


25/09/2009Dutch coffeeshops to challenge cannabis ban again

Coffeeshops in Roosendaal and Bergen-op-Zoom will once again present their case against the cannabis ban in court on Friday.

The Hague – Coffeeshops in two Dutch towns near the Belgian border banned from selling cannabis – in order to prevent drug tourism – are to bring another court challenge against a ban, a court official said on Friday.
Two hearings are to be held before the district court in the southern Dutch city of Breda on 2 October – one before an administrative judge and another before a civil one, said the spokesman.

The mayors of Roosendaal and Bergen-op-Zoom, some 15 kilometres apart, announced in 2008 that all eight coffeeshops within their borders would be barred from selling cannabis from 16 September.

The move was aimed at staving off some 25,000 marijuana-smoking tourists, mainly French and Belgian, who flood their communities every week.

Six of the coffeeshops had lost an application before the same court against the mayors' decision the day before the ban entered into force.

Only one of the eight affected coffeeshops opened its doors on 16 September, insisting it was selling "only coffee".

The coffeeshops can continue operating as ordinary bars or cafes, but violation of the drugs ban would be punishable by a five-year closure.

The consumption and possession of small amounts of cannabis have been decriminalised since 1976 in the Netherlands, where it is sold in about 700 licensed coffeeshops.

The national Dutch government announced plans this month to limit drug tourism by reserving hundreds of cannabis-vending coffeeshops for locals.

AFP / Expatica 


1 reaction to this article

lightning posted: 2009-09-25 17:52:53

I would have thought banning other Europeans from entering the coffee shops on the basis they are not Dutch would have been in breach of the European human rights accords..If somebodyis in the country legallysurely they are free to shopin the stores but then I am just some Aussie stoner so what would I know.

1 reaction to this article

lightning posted: 2009-09-25 17:52:53

I would have thought banning other Europeans from entering the coffee shops on the basis they are not Dutch would have been in breach of the European human rights accords..If somebodyis in the country legallysurely they are free to shopin the stores but then I am just some Aussie stoner so what would I know.

Discussion Forums

Americans in the Netherlands

reporting birth abroad

Relocating to the Netherlands

Taxation on Rental Apartments!

Housing in the Netherlands

Taxation on Rental Appartments?

Discuss Dutch Culture

High-quality fake passports, driver's licenses, ID

English in the Netherlands

Moved to Hengelo

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Setting up home in the Netherlands

Setting up home in the Netherlands

A guide to telephone, internet and television along with utility services water, electricity and gas in the Netherlands.

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

Lost in the Dutch immigration system? Look no further than this guide compiled for our Survival Guide 2012.

A brief introduction to the Netherlands

A brief introduction to the Netherlands

Expatica offers a whistle-stop tour of life in the modern Netherlands.

Giving birth in the Netherlands

Giving birth in the Netherlands

The challenges and benefits of the maternity system in the Netherlands and how it differs to other countries.