Dutch cities begin crackdown on marijuana cafes
By Jeff MillsDecember 3rd, 2010, 7:30 pmComments (3)
A bummer of a news item for potheads came out of The Netherlands today: the country's justice minister, in cooperation with five southern Dutch cities, say they will implement new restrictions on coffeehouses, or "marijuana cafes", following a wave of drug-related gang violence.
They said Friday that planned measures include shuttering many cafes, using tax and accounting laws to seize criminal assets, and introducing a "members only" pass system for remaining cafes, an idea the Dutch government had previously considered in order to make it more difficult for tourists to buy marijuana.
Last week, a home in Eindhoven was hit with machine gun fire, and the mayor of Helmond went into hiding due to death threats. According to police, both matters are drug-related.
Personally, I don't think the government's mellow-harshing gambit is going to curb gang violence anytime soon. If anything, maybe the justice minister should have a "weed summit" with gangbangers at The Hague, and "hash" out these silly differences. (I couldn't resist.)
Commentarium (3 Comments)
I'm sure shutting down legal venues will get those damn crooks out of the business.
Yep. That tactic has worked so well thus far.
The problem with the Dutch approach is that they've only gone halfway on legalization. Personal possession and retail sales are effectively decriminalized, but manufacture and distribution is still illegal, and therefore still in the hands of criminal gangs. Cracking down on the retail market will affect the gangs' bottom-line, but you really have to ask why they were allowed to keep control of the trade in the first place...
Now you say something