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Dutch allowed to keep their 'coffee shops'
Sharon Spiteri EUobserver.com
Thursday 27 Nov 2003 EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Netherlands will be allowed to maintain its "coffee" shops - where cannabis is openly sold and smoked - after managing to exempt them from an EU agreement aimed at combating illicit drugs trafficking. The 15 EU justice ministers agreed today on harmonising national laws to make the bloc more efficient in the fight against drug trafficking. But they left it up to individual member states to decide whether to exempt individuals from criminal liability when attempting to offer, prepare or possess drugs. Furthermore, in order to combat drug tourism, the Dutch justice minister Piet Hein Donner said that his government was planning to restrict coffee shop owners from selling soft drugs to non-residents. These measures are intended to dissuade foreigners who go to Amsterdam to buy and consume drugs. Penalities for drug traffickers According to the agreement reached today, drug traffickers will face between one to three years of imprisonment if they are caught producing, distributing drugs or cultivating opium poppies, coca bush or cannabis plants. When large quantities of drugs are involved, criminal penalties will be issued for a minimum of five years with the possibility of extention to a maximum of ten years. However, it will still be up to the individual member states to determine what is defined as personal consumption. "On personal consumption, each country will be free to regulate as it regards appropriate", said Italy's justice minister, Roberto Castelli. Mr Castelli expressed his satisfaction on today's deal, because he thought it was going to be extremely difficult to achieve consensus. "Europe has now equipped itself with an instrument to combat drug trafficking". The European Parliament will now have to give its opinion on today's agreement. Written by Sharon Spiteri
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