24 October 2008

Two Dutch mayors close down coffee-shops in towns
The decision by two Dutch mayors to close down all the coffee-shops that sell soft-drugs in their towns receives widespread coverage in today's Dutch papers.

"Tolerance goes up in smoke" is the headline in nrc.next, referring to the traditional Dutch drugs policy of turning a blind eye when it comes to the limited sale and use of soft drugs.

At a national level, repressive measures are nowhere to be seen, but in the southern border towns of Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom they have had enough of the drugs tourists pouring in from Belgium and France and the problems they cause.

"What else can we do? Deploy even more police to deal with the problems?" asks the exasperated Mayor of Roosendaal.

Roosendaal mayor and his counterpart in Bergen op Zoom have decided it's curtains for all eight coffee-shops, from the Yellow Moon in Roosendaal to the Kinky Corner in Bergen.

"We plan to take the law as far as it can go" he explains, describing his decision as "pragmatic" not "ideological". "Coffee shop owners don't have a right to earn a living selling soft drugs. They should be grateful that we've been turning a blind eye all these years."

Until they can actually close the premises, the authorities have introduced a range of measures, from restricting opening hours and limiting the amount of drugs on the premises to increasing fines for offenders.

The staff of the coffee shops in question are, needless to say, unimpressed by the news.

"The people causing the problems are the dealers," says one "and once the shops are closed, you'll see that more people buy from them."

Another points to his customers and says "Look around. These guys don't want any hassle. They just want to kick back and relax after work."

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