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Netherlands: Outrage Over Court Rulings on Drug Cafes

Katherine Lim

NL Times

Thursday 15 Aug 2013

A court decision to transfer coffee shops selling cannabis from Maastricht to an industrial property near the Belgian border has sparked outrage from five neighboring Belgian towns.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court in The Hague approved the move to an industrial park at Eijsden to settle the disagreement between the Maastricht Mayor Onno Hoes and café owners.

Hoes said there are 1.6 million overseas “drugs tourists” who come to the city annually to visit 13 licensed coffee shops, which he considers “an unacceptable nuisance.” He insisted they should be banned in accordance to the new law that has not been observed in other places like Amsterdam. The shops’ owners said prohibiting tourists would affect their businesses and can damage the local economy. They deemed it will result to a rise in illegal trading in the streets. Some owners did agree to transfer to the bordering areas to resolve the dispute with the mayor.

Five Belgian border towns including Riemst, Blegny, Voeren, Visé and Lanaken appeared to the court with their contradicting view. According to them, Maastricht was working out its issue only by transferring the problem near them. They were advised by the court that they had no direct involvement in the case.

As a result, Voeren Mayor Huub Broers has cautioned that he plans to make the transfer hard for the three cafes and for all customers who will come to his city. He further added that he has the authority (based on the EU law) to close cross-border roads with situations he believes carry “a risk.”

http://www.nltimes.nl/2013/08/16/outrage-over-court-ruling-on-drug-cafes/

 

 

 

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