Braindead Dutch Government

via Truthdig:



Netherlands Closing Pot Shops to Tourists
Posted on May 28, 2011


Marking the end of a long era of tolerance for certain drugs in the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s legendary “coffee shops” will soon stop admitting foreigners as the Dutch government prepares to ban tourists from cafes that sell marijuana. The plan, which will turn the shops into private clubs, is the product of a more conservative national coalition government and a growing desire among Dutch leaders to change the country’s reputation and decrease drug use. Opponents of the new policy, including the mayor of Amsterdam, claim that visitors will still seek out marijuana and that the black market will grow to accommodate them. There is also a concern about the impact of new regulations on the Dutch economy, as taxes on marijuana account for more than $600 million in annual revenue. —KDG




http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/netherlands_closing_pot_shops_to_tourists_20110528/

is total bullshit.

Just like the voting irregularities here.

That will be the result of what they are proposing.

There will be increased crime and abuse ... they are, basically, going to foster a criminal black market.

The Dutch people will be affected as a new black market is created, catering to tourists and leading to turf wars and all the other problems that PROHIBITION is known to create.

the stigma is pretty much dead over pot, and now they want to stigmatize it which is the root of most countries problem with pot. The Dutch really are not visitors of the coffee shops, locals are not really interested in them.

Of course there are 20 other bars within a half-mile radius and they all had the reasonable levels of Saturday night jackassery, but with a straight face, the city singled this one out above all others...

:shrug:

The red light district. So I guess they are looking for gamblers and tricks? Apparently so.

:shrug:

availability of drugs? I'd go to see Amsterdam in a minute if I could afford it. It looks like a beautiful city.

I mean, those who plan travel to Amsterdam.

out the next day.

Going with a little band of art lovers on a small barge tracing Dutch art of the 17th century by town, going through the northern and the southern provinces, but I'll also have time in Amsterdam. I hope to talk to my Dutch hosts about this drug thing, too.

Holland has a lot to offer outside of drugs and sex. I hear the little towns are exquisite, too!

It'll be a new experience...and I love the idea of stopping in the little towns like Delft and Leiden. Amsterdam has a lot of museums but I will concentrate on the Rikjsmuseum (so much too see)...

Also recommend Alkmaar, Maarken, and Volendam:
http://www.darrellpeck.com/travel/1970-holland+belgium/page04.htm

http://www.2camels.com/photos/cheese-festival.php

I am going to be stopping in Haarlem, Rotterdam and Gouda.

I can get a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam for about £30 (that's a lot less than a journey to London btw) so it is a quite cheap option for a short break and I have a number of friends who have gone to Amsterdam precisely because of the availability of drugs. Sure, they may have also visited a museum or two but that hasn't been their primary reason for going.

:)

the cramped stairs, the over priced lodgings and the spotty food. Go, see the museums, Anne's house, and take the Thalys to a better city. No overnight in Amsterdam makes travel better in Europe.
Of course, they will still draw many with the casinos and the 'red light' district. Stay classy, Holland!

I'm crazy about old European cities. I like the feel of them, their art and their histories...

not so much 'tourist' BS

up liking another city better. You never know what you'll find.

Not that I don't want to go to the biggies. I do. I'd really like to go to Vienna, Budapest and Prague, but I think my next trip (after Holland this fall) will be a fast getaway out of JFK to London (next spring), just for 5 or 6 nights...

so much to do there. So many museums, etc (my big thing)

Try to stay for longer if you can. When I went to London, stayed at a nice B & B and was able to save a lot of money (which went to shopping, heh heh! )

:evilgrin:

I want a fast, cheap ticket trip, because "once you're there, you're there."

I can go back to the National Gallery,the Tate, the Cortauld, the Victoria and Albert, the British Museum and (for only about a half hour) the Wallace Collection (I can take only so much of Rococo).

The British Museum in and of it can take days to explore. :)

I do some research and put together a list of what I want to see and where these pieces are in the museum. I try to dope out the best way of finding the galleries they are in. For instance, at the Louvre I wanted specifically to see "the Marriage at Cana," "Death of the Virgin," the new Twombly ceiling and "Women of Algiers." Did the same at the Uffizi last fall. Otherwise, you can get so frustrated, given the mobs of people in such famous places.

Ideally, you would schedule at least 2 days for each gallery (and even then not see what you wanted because it is out on loan!). You can exhaust yourself trying to do it all in one day (as I found out when I did that in the Prado). However, it's a kind of happy exhaustion...

On my way elsewhere I would just pop into the Museum and check out a few galleries.

Good thing is, you can take pictures inside. :)

compared to other European cities... it's just about taste.

London felt... well, the word I use is scroddy.

Portuguese, being down on their luck...

Paris may not have "coffee shops" but it is a hell of a lot more fun than Amsterdam.

Same for Rome, but double. And the food is out of this world.

I wonder how popular it would be?

and Lithuania for people to be able to drink cheaply.

But I spent 2 weeks in and around Amsterdam last year and loved every minute of it. The town is wonderful and full of sites to visit. The "red light district" is a tiny area, that you would miss unless you were looking for it. The cafes are well run and the food is great. We were not looking to get "wasted" and we would love to return, there was so much to see and do we need to go back for a month next time. We loved the people and were treated with great kindness and respect. They are a smart, lively, proud,and intelligent people in a very small country. Some of you people need to get out more.

....... and I still think this law is boneheaded.

I feel everything is fine the way it is. You can't solve a problem by being more restrictive.
In my opinion, the answer is in education, not silly laws, I don't think you can legislate morality.

wants to suppress anything that would expand the mind and encourage free thought, because their whole paradigm is based on control and suppression.

The aspect of cannabis that encourages creativity and questioning of authority-- and resistance to being manipulated--is perhaps the most sublime and 'dangerous' aspect of this herb.

Cannabis is not dangerous to us, it is dangerous to them. All of the profiteering and abuse of citizenry aside, the conservative right in any shape or form, in any country, cannot have a populace who is educated or with an intact imagination.

You don't seem to have thought your argument through. Anyone who thought cannabis was "encouraging creativity and questioning of authority" and thus a danger to the conservative mindset, would be attacking domestic consumption, not tourists.

THSeeds has already moved their entire operation here because of the crack down. That includes the base of operations for Hempworks, their clothing line. And the owner of THSeeds/Hempworks, Adam Dunn, has told me the mass exodus by these companies has begun.

You don't want it? We'll take it all here in Colorado. Thank you very much. Just realize...once it's gone...you're going to have a hard time getting it back. You aren't the only pony in this petting zoo anymore.

as a result of this, ok now the real question is who will benefit the most from the prohibition in Government?

30 seconds after the law is signed enterprising locals will be selling to tourists at double and triple the prices, I bet they will even deliver to your hotel. Social Media and the Internet will be great ways to advertise your product to the tourists and the Dutch will not be able to hire enough police to even stop it.

All this will do is make the conditions identical to what they were before they got smart and opened the Coffee Shops.

$600 million in taxes on the sale of the demon weed is a bunch of dough to leave on the table and it will have to come out of the Gov coffers and someone is going to have to pay for the shortfall that non voting tourists had no problems paying.

Now the Dutch will need extra cops, more prisons and more Government to manage the prohibition.

Looks like taxes for the Dutch will be going up considerably very soon.

When I travel to Europe, which I do at least 3 or more times a year, I always go via Amsterdam and stay extra days on both ends of the trip spending money on hotels, dinners and other things. If they don't want my money fine by me, it's not like I have to spend the extra time in Amsterdam, it's just I used to enjoy staying in a truly free country for a few days prior to returning to America and being treated like a criminal.

I think that drug legalization, which means regulation and taxation on sales, would solve a lot of our violent crime here in the U.S. So watching this thing unfold will be instructive.

Plenty of tourists go to Holland for reasons other than drugs, tho. History, art, cheese, tulips and culture are the big ones. We need to have a bit more sophisticated approach to the idea of travel in the Netherlands, IMO...

the same kind of $'s, $600 Mill in weed tax is big bucks, the Gov is going to want the money.

BTW I am the tourist they want, I stay and 4-5 star hotels and spend money on others things.

Like I said they have a ban, I will spend some place else, simple.

Hey, I'm not opposed to people having weed and I think other drugs should be legalized and regulated. But I know people who simply do not travel for drugs. It just is not their thing.

Live and let live. Just understand that Holland will always have its art, tulips, cheese and culture. They survived one hell of a lot of religious wars, pestilence, a devastating stock market crash due to tulips, and the destruction (and starvation) of WW2. Plus the constant worry of flooding!

Do you honestly think they fear the loss of this? REALLY?
:rofl:

Looks like they may be seeing a jump in their tourism numbers..

were British and German. I found out that the Brits have been vacationing there for quite a long time, for their nice weather and their port. Britain and Portugal were allies against Spain back in the days of the Spanish armada...

Say goodbye to tourism in Netherlands!

The Hostels will certainly suffer, especially around Spring Break time

I was there for this very reason the Spring of 2007. I know first hand why people my age go to Amsterdam. Its all to smoke. Without that, they just wont go to Amsterdam anymore. They will go other places.

And you might find out you are wrong that people your age are not interested in the art and culture of Holland. For them, there are paintings they won't be able to see if they aren't in the Rikjsmuseum. And they might just be interested in the culture of a country that gave rise to such greatness. If you study the golden age of Dutch art, you will discover a treasure trove of artistic greatness that will nourish you forever...

except that you have the friends you have...

and these shops are not overloaded with tourist. I think the Dutch are cutting their own throats with this ban and seeing that the sale of it is taxed, they will lose a great deal of money. Criminality?? I think that is hyperbole.

and that was because the food was too salty and the art museums too full of the art they stole from the countries they conquered in the 16th century (also port, which I cannot drink). It was also kind of a run down Madrid (which I loved). I was not thrilled.

Everywhere else I have found wonderful discoveries. Go with wide eyes and hopefulness...you will be rewarded...

This is so stupid. They'll see a drop in revenue and, as has been mentioned, the kids who want it will get it and the rest will say fuck it, screw Holland.