When I first came to Holland, coffee shops are one of the attractions that excites me. Tried smoking pot a few times then got tired of it because it's really nothing special. Lately, coffee shops are closing everywhere because of the pressure from the police to their clients esp in Bergen op Zoom, Roseendal and Maastricht. One of the biggest in Terneuzen in Zeeland also closed few months ago.

Do you think this phenomena will lead to a ban on selling weed in the Netherlands in the future? Do you think it will have a severe impact on the country's tourism?

What's your stand on the coffee shop issues? Do you think it's necessary to close the shops?

Im an expat and I do know for sure that tourists not just for the tulips or the windmills but the dirty little adventures that their homeland doesn't tolerate.

Well, if the coffeeshops do eventually close, then there's always tea leaves & dried bannana skins to smoke!

In Amsterdam, that's the case. Tourists come, have a good time, and then go home. Few, if any try to smuggle pot back home on the plane.

In the south of the Netherlands, these 'tourists' come in white vans with French license plates, and they don't stay all that long. Coffee shops in these areas often require the assistance of more professional criminal organisations so they can 1. meet demand 2. launder their revenues.

The randstad gets the perks, the rest of the country has to pay for them. Of course, that's pretty much in line with Dutch government policy on the whole, so I don't expect things to change very soon.

They're legally manged on a gemeente by gemeente basis however, so if Maastricht wants ID cards and Bergen op Zoom wants to close them that won't affect the tourists in the Dam. It's a good idea, it'll get rid of those problem tourists and put a stop on organised crime - Amsterdam also needs cleaning up. I'm a fan of the smaller, comfortable coffeeshop but I hate coffeeshops that almost feel like a McDonalds or something.

I don't think coffee shops will close. The problems exist only near the German and Belgian borders. Though I think these problems were exaggerated. I live near Terneuzen, where the largest coffee shop in the country was closed a few months ago. And the big majority of the French and Belgian "tourists" were very nice people like you and me. I didn't think they were bothering anyone.

I think this entire exercise is insane.
The reason being not jsut the tax revenue the government extracts from these shops, it's all the peripheral businesses.

Most normal people, when they smoke, get hungry. Closing these shops will impact all of the small cafe's and snack shops in the area.

In addition to that space no longer being rented for this business.

The unemployment and reduction of tax revenues will surprise those gemmente's i think, but it is up to them to be stupid.

Oh, come on I think this government has no shortage of taxes, thet can loose one or two.
And the premisses would be probably easy to renovate. Renovation cost must have been included in their rent.

Does the economy have to be the maim driver?

I never said it was MAIN driver, probably contributes a great deal however.
I would rather the tax money was coming from a - currently - legitimate market and the peripheral markets, than NOT collecting ANY money from the soon-to-be illegal market.

The drug market never goes away, just because it is illegal.
When it is legal, you can tax it, and put police to work stopping actual crime.
When it becomes illegal, not only do you loose all that tax revenue, in a best-case scenario- you are also spending money on the police to stop, fine, and arrest people for doing what once was legal.

The net is a great deal of money wasted, and lost, where before you had a surplus, and a positive effect on the economy as a whole.

Look at the US, we're a ***** MESS partially because of all the money that has been wholesale wasted on the FAILED "war on drugs" where if the soft drugs - mostly just pot - were made legal, regulated, and taxed up the ass, no only would we NOT have spent that money pointlessly on a un-winnable "war" but we would have had surplus. In addition if pot was allowed to be grow-able under STRICT supervision and regulation, permits, etc, you would also greatly reduce the import of drugs from south America - which funds the assorted junta's etc.

On top of all that, the easiest way to stop drug usage is education. Give people a reason to exist, a sense that they can have a bright future, and have ENFORCED labor laws that keeps work to 40 hours a week, and universal health care - thus reducing stress and the overall drive that causes the need for such drugs in the first place.

but people like you are totally incapable of understanding the simple logic of that.

Less money spent on enforcement (where very few crimes are currently being committed in relation) = more money for other things.

More money on enforcement (making it illegal will also increase "crime" as well as real crime) = less money for other things

drugs bad, no drugs good, seems to be all you reisch wingers can comprehend. The world is not black and white!

grow up!

The government actually earns a hell lot of money from the coffee shops but they just dont want to admit it. It's estimated that the dutch govt earns at least 400 million euros a year for all its 730 cannabis shops. (LINK)

And I do think that the closing of the shops will have an effect on the whole tourism industry in the country. Probably it wont be as quick but in the long run, it will decrease the turn-over of tourists here. Let's admit it, the tulips only lasts for a couple of months and Holland is not the best place for architecture either. It doesnt have beaches or mountains and a big chunk of the tourists go for this coffee shops and the red light district. the burgemeesters should put that in considerations.

Listen Chicken Little, they are not closing the coffeeshops that you or any other real tourist would ever visit. Stop being such a drama queen, and you paragraph above is both wrong and offensive.

whoa what's with the strong words?

and yes they are closing the coffee shops in the borders. grab a paper or maybe read more here in expatica so you'll be informed!

There is lot to see here. Have you visited Palis Het Loo? It is considered as Dutch Versailles.

Yes I had been there. But if you are a tourist, you are in Europe, would you go to the Netherlands to see the Dutch version of the Versailles and not straight to France where the real thing is? And how many cities in the border have this kind of tourist spot?

My point is, a big number of the tourists in the Netherlands come for the coffee shops, thus the issue of drug tourism. But with big bucks from the taxes, I am sure the gemeente's can draw a better plan on keeping it from becoming a big time drug trade, which I dont think it will be.

Instead of closing them, why not just impose stricter rules on buying from these shops. These are also people's business, their means of income. There are people working there and there are families being supported from the sales. Will the government provide them with a much better alternative?

Yes, at the borders. These shops cater to drug dealers from bordering nations who do not make any contribution to the border economies. There are no plans to close the coffeeshops outside of the border area. I have read all the articles and discussed it with some local coffeeshop 'investors', they will not close the coffeeshops and any attempt to limit sales to permanent residents will fail due to EU law.

If you want to play chicken little, investigate the real reason that criminality is involved in the business, namely that while the CS may sell to customers, there is no legal frame work for them the purchase or cultivate product. Therefore, the mafia steps in, which is what often happens.

All the things you mention are being discussed, so rather than righteous indignation, become informed. I still find your comments about the importance of the tourist seeking drugs and hookers to be a. overblown, and b. creepy. This place would not be any worse for wear if those types of people stopped coming here.

Also, this place does have beaches.

Don't be such a cliche please.

I agree with this. In addition Coffe Shops may present an opportunity to legalize Mafia money.

LOL!!!

err......... did you ever even look at a map of this country??

It does have beaches, however they are not usable in the way beaches in Carribean are, if you know what I mean .

" In addition Coffee Shops may present an opportunity to legalize Mafia money "

No. Coffeeshop owners have enough problems with this constant questioning of their right to exist. The money launderers have been predominantly makkelaars - and. of course, banks.

If by that you mean secluded and accessible only to the more affluent end of the social scale, then I agree. If you mean people can't lie on golden sand and get a tan/take a dip, and everyone has access, then Wrong Answer! They are very usable, and very used on hot days.

The Dutch complain about how overcrowded their country is. Yet they like nothing more than to be in a dense crowd together. Go figure!

Oh come on I was thinking on weather - it was claimed this was the hottest summer, people complained about the heat wave when temperature was 24 - 25 Celsius. There was handful of days with the temperature above 24 degrees. That what it means: not as usable as Carribean."
There are beaches in Carribean only reach can enjoy, however there are beaches that mainstream of middle class people can enjoy. Try Cancun, Dominican Republic or Cuba.

If you live in Europe there is no need to travel to Carribean, plenty of nice beaches accessible by everybody and no jet-leg.

One more thing water is cold and currents are strong on the Dutch beaches.

How have we got from coffeeshops to flamingos?
Too much wiet?

That is how Expatica forums work .