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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Netherlands: Holland to rule on drug ban for foreigners
Channel 4 News Friday 27 Apr 2012 Holland ruling on drug ban for foreigners Although soft drugs are tolerated in the Netherlands, there is growing concern that tourists are visiting just for drugs, and that foreign dealers are buying large quantities and selling it illegally in their own country. New cannabis-for-locals-only laws are to roll out on May 1 in three southern Dutch provinces: North Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland on the Belgian and German borders - and in the rest of the Netherlands in 2013. But a group of 19 cafe owners are arguing at The Hague district court on Friday that the ban is discriminatory against foreigners. If the measure is approved Dutch residents will still be allowed into the cafes, as long as they have valid identification, or possibly hold a new ‘cannabis card' allowing them to buy the drug. According to Dutch government figures from 2008, there are 730 coffeeshops in the country, more than 200 of them in Amsterdam. Dutch residents have long complained about the impact of drug tourism including pollution, traffic jams, noise at night and a proliferation of hard-drug dealers on the streets. "This is a discriminatory measure," said Andre Beckers, one of the four lawyers who represent the 19 coffee shops, located in the country's 19 judicial districts, as well as two pro-cannabis organisations. "These 19 coffee shops have been selected to represent the whole country and it is clear that many other coffee shops support the action," Beckers said. Though cannabis is technically illegal, the Netherlands decriminalised the possession of less than five grams of the substance in 1976 under a so-called "tolerance" policy. http://www.channel4.com/news/holland-set-to-rule-on-foreigners-drug-ban
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