Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
recriminalize. Local right-wingers, conservative Christian groups, and the American gov-
ernment have all pressured the Netherlands government to restrict its marijuana policies.
This has pitted federal authorities in the Netherlands against mayors. Generally mayors,
who are responsible for crime on their streets, advocate for the legal retail sale of
marijuana in coffeeshops. They know when coffeeshops are shut down, the criminal activ-
ity that goes along with criminals selling pot on the streets spikes.
A 2011 Dutch law sought to close coffeeshops near schools, and coffeeshop licenses
have not been renewed in certain neighborhoods—as towns and cities want to keep a
broad smattering of shops rather than a big concentration in any one area. Consequently,
the number of coffeeshops in Amsterdam has fallen from a peak of more than 700 (in the
mid-1990s) to about 200 today. With all of this pressure, coffeeshop proprietors are scram-
bling to be good citizens and nurture good relations with their neighbors. Meanwhile,
Dutch pot smokers complain that the generation that ran naked on acid around Amster-
dam's Vondelpark during the '60s is now threatening the Netherlands' well-established,
regulated marijuana trade.
One of the biggest concerns with the coffeeshop system is “marijuana tourism.” It's
no coincidence that Amsterdam has become a mecca for harmless but occasionally obnox-
ious backpackers eager to legally light up. And neighboring countries (France and Ger-
many) complain that it's too easy for their citizens to make drug runs across the border.
In response, some Dutch border towns have implemented a “weed pass” system, allow-
ing pot sales only to registered Dutch citizens. But the independent-minded Dutch (espe-
cially young people) don't want to be registered as pot users, so they're buying it on the
street—rekindling the black market, and, many fear, the crime and social problems associ-
ated with the sale of pot on the streets by criminals rather than by businessmen in licensed
coffeeshops. Stay tuned.
Despite detractors, statistics support the belief that the more pragmatic Dutch system
removes crime from the equation without unduly increasing consumption: After nearly 40
years of handling marijuana this way, Dutch experts in the field of drug-abuse prevention
agree that, while marijuana use has increased slightly, it has not increased more than in
other European countries where pot smokers are being arrested. (According to EU stat-
istics, 23 percent of Dutch people have used pot, compared to more than 30 percent of
Italians, French, and Brits.) My Dutch friends also enjoy pointing out that, while three
recent US presidents—Clinton, Bush, Obama—admitted or implied that they've smoked
marijuana, no Dutch prime minister ever has.
Dutch parents generally agree with their country's lenient approach to marijuana. The
Dutch have seen no significant change in marijuana consumption among teens (who, ac-
cording to both US and EU government statistics, smoke pot at half the US rate). Mean-
