Dutch cannabis policy challenged

The Dutch have long been famous for their tolerant attitude to cannabis.

But now they are re-examining their approach, because millions of European “drugs tourists” are heading to the Netherlands to do what they cannot do at home, the BBC’s Mike Donkin reports.

The quaint streets of Maastricht are a top attraction for tourists – especially, these days, “drugs tourists”.

They flood in across the border from Germany and Belgium, along with the international criminal gangs who operate the drug supply lines.

Maastricht’s citizens want an end to this, the city’s Mayor Gerd Leers says. So he has called for the Dutch and the rest of Europe to adopt a common “pragmatic approach” to soft drugs.

Mayor Leers has told the Dutch parliament that the licensing system that allows coffee shops to sell 5g of cannabis to each customer should be extended, to allow them to grow their own plants.

“They should have a permit to grow their own cannabis so that they can cut their ties with the criminals,” the mayor says. “That way we can control things. At the moment our system is so hypocritical.”

Read full article: BBC News