New Cannabis Rules for Dutch Coffee Shops

The Dutch Government has decided to clamp down on cannabis use by tourists. Membership policy will be introduced to keep tourists out of the coffee shops. Starting next year, Dutch people wanting to buy cannabis products will need a special ID. These cards will not be available to foreigners and are designed to put an end to drug tourism to the Netherlands. At the moment possession of 5 grams of cannabis is decriminalised. In the furture, this amount will be reduced to 3 grams.

Cannabis Plant

The idea is that coffee shops should go back to what they originally were: vending points for local users and not large scale outlets for drug tourists.

Don’t despair because nothing has been decided yet. It will take at least another year before a new is passed, and many doubt if it will happen at all.

Job Cohen, the mayor of Amsterdam, said it to be unlikely that the proposed ID card system will be introduced in Amsterdam, because drug tourists pose hardly any problem, besides the card system would be very difficult to implement.

• Related articles:
• Cabinet to Get Tough on Cannabis Tourism
• Amsterdam Moves to Ban Drug Tourism

Photo credit: personal collection