The sad news is coming in that two towns in the Netherlands, Roosendaal and Bergen-op-Doom, will be shutting down their cannabis cafes after evaluating that they could no longer cope with the approximate 25,000 “drug tourists” swarming in from France and Belgium.
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“Soft drug tourism is the motor of criminality linked to (harder) drugs,” they said in a ‘joint’ statement. “It has an overwhelming negative effect on public order.” The towns are blaming the influx of out-of-towners for everything from traffic problems to the illegal selling of drugs. The eight clubs are all scheduled to be closed February 2009.
Until the closures take effect, coffee shops will be limited to distributing just two grams of bud a day to each customer, more than halving the current limit of five grams (also the legal possession limit in Holland). Neighbor town Terneuzen is considering taking similar measures in May, vowing to also limit opening hours for clubs as well.
Needless to say: What a bummer.