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Verdict to decide fate of Dutch cannabis coffee shops
Should foreigners be allowed in coffee shops?
Restricting the purchase of cannabis in Dutch coffee shops to Dutch residents will slow the tide of drug tourism which has taken over Amsterdam and Maastricht, and it will make those who are not Dutch residents confront their own governments' policies on cannabis possession - a good thing all around, I think. -- Petur, US
Wow, I am surprised by the socially-irresponsible comments made by Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice: [...] these tourists can return to "use the illegal markets available in their immediate surroundings." This is incredibly narrow-minded and Josemans quite correctly points out that Dutch society would effectively shoot itself in the foot, fuelling social problems on their own doorstep. Also, it seems very separatist to send young people the message, "get up to illegal activity in your region," instead of encouraging them to cultivate a responsible habit of abiding by [differing] laws at home and abroad. -- Wilnelia, South Africa
I've visited the Netherlands and sampled the coffee shops. It's good to be there surrounded by like-minded people and without the fear of being arrested. The attraction is not particularly centered on cannabis - we grow the same strains just as well in the UK, although it is good to be able to try different strains. I fear that the Dutch government is being leaned on by the American prohibition business and perhaps being offered lots of aid for doing as it is told. -- Mary, UK
No, they should not. The Dutch people fought hard for their coffee shops and citizens of other EU countries should also fight for them in their home country. Instead of visitors travelling to Amsterdam they should stay at home and fight for coffee shops of their own. -- Jeff, UK
I think it's pretty obvious that these problems aren't caused by foreigners being allowed in the coffee shops, but instead are caused by foreigners not being allowed legal access to cannabis in their own countries. If cannabis was treated like beer and wine and legally sold to adults in the countries that these foreigners come from, then these people wouldn't be visiting the Netherlands on "drug trips," and wouldn't be behaving like idiotic school kids when they do visit the Dutch coffee shops. These problems aren't being caused by legalizing adult cannabis sales in the Netherlands, they're being caused by prohibiting adult cannabis sales in every other country! Prohibition fuels crime, and it would be self-defeating and self-destructive of us to prohibit the sale of cannabis in the Netherlands, which this current government seems so hell-bent on achieving. -- Jillian, US
Compiled by Stuart Tiffen
Editor: Martin Kuebler
