Changes in marijuana laws in The Netherlands

Don't get your hopes up Andre;) In yesterday's NY Times there was detailed article about this, and it's political ramifications. As some may have heard, the Dutch government collapsed several days ago over austerity measures, meaning there will have to be new elections. The only way for the ruling Conservative's to stay in power is to form a coalition with the Greens and another left leaning party which both oppose the "weed pass" system...it may have to be scrapped: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/28/world/europe/dutch-plan-to-restrict-marijuana-passes-hurdle.html

Michael, I live here and I followed the case closely. There is a caretaker cabinet here, but this measure was already approved almost 2 years ago and the High Court (don't know if this is a proper transition) ruled yesterday against a motion to postpone the enforcement of the new regulations. A recent last-minute budget deal was struck with 5 parties, 3 of which are staunchly in favor of the pass system and one who is a Christian orthodox party supporting a US-style ban on all drugs. There is no much support for "drug tourism" here, especially in border cities, like mine, where you have a large influx of our neighbors (Belgians and Germans) who come to buy their trash and, in the process, cause nuisance and litter the city.
More controversial than stopping drug tourism is whether some sort of data breach could make the names of "mariajuana pass holders" public or accessible to employers, meaning they'd discriminate against users (which I totally support if legal, employers should be allowed here to conduct drug tests and fire drug users at whim like in US). But the legal battle is still a long way out of a final conclusion.

Andre, I certainly respect your opinion since you live there. What I've heard from locals is that the "problem" is more pronounced in the south and that most in Amsterdam would like to keep things as the are. Would you agree with that? I know I've heard the stories of drug dealers from Paris who used to take the train up to Roosendaal to pick up their supplies. With a new government coming, maybe there's time to carve out an exception for Amsterdam and any other localities that want to be excluded. It is a huge tourist draw, and yes, some of the tourists do make it to the museums and other attractions. They also fill hotels and restaurants. This income could not be easily replaced. If the pot goes away, I'm afraid that many will just decide to skip Amsterdam altogether. And it's not just the college crowd, there are many older folks in the coffeeshops as well. As for the addiction issue, I'm sure there are marijuana addicts. I don't know any. I suppose some of the folks you see hitting the coffeeshops at 10am may have a problem. I sure do know a lot of alcoholics, however. When you look at the overall harm to society, tobacco and alcohol definitely take the top prize.

Since it's a national law, I don't think they could caver exceptions. The national tourist trade association had already manifest itself in early 2011 saying that the number of tourists coming from abroad and spending at least a night in a hotel (thus excluding short trips from neighboring countries) would not be significantly affected by changes in marijuana laws. The only big impact would be felt in a narrow area of Central Amsterdam. However, Amsterdam gemeente has been pushing gentrification and clearing seedy areas for a while, slowly. The number of windows displaying women offering prostitution services has been reduced by 40% over a decade. And they don't give new licenses for new coffeeshops, if one opens, other must close in the same area before. So, hopefully, gentrification and market forces will clean up the De Wallen area. It is an architecturally beautiful spot plagued with seedy characters and business, but it can be brought to be a more family-friendly area attracting higher-spender tourists (which will make up for any loss on people travelling overseas to smoke weed).

Andre,, don't think weed is your problem,, seem to recall Netherlands,, like most everyother western country,, is having more issues with those who do hard drugs. People smoking in coffeeshops are likely not the social problem you think they are. Hard drugs and soft drugs are quite different . And "feeding their addictions" ,,are you serious.. lol laughable.. kids in most places/countries can get pot from school, they don't need your coffee shops,, coffee shops are a novelty though for most tourists... the idea of not having to hide. and the use of the words " addiction" and "junkies" to describe pot smokers tells me you have your information from watching "Reefer Madness" not from any real facts or experience,, and I don't care how long you have lived in there,, your views are somewhat odd. I turn on the news every night and see what drunks and crack/meth heads have done to mess up themselves or the world,, sorry , pot heads are just not on the radar for crime,, and especially not those sitting in coffee shops . And no i do not think pot is a gateway drug that automatically leads to other drugs,, please, half of us here who may be old farts to you now,, but we grew up in the 60s, 70s and 80s,, and likley tried pot already,, we are not addicted or into it now,, and the few that still do , you wouldn't know it. They are your neighbors in nice neighborhoods in suburbia.