The Dutch conservative coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to fight the massive tourist flow to the country’s coffee shops, where tourists and locals alike come together to puff the old magic dragon. However, the Dutch border city of Maastricht has decided to try something different to demonstrate this won’t work in the long-term.

The self-imposed ban, that went into effect on Saturday, means that foreign visitors to the city will no longer be welcome to light up a joint or purchase cannabis in the coffee shops of Maastricht, unless they can prove that they are from the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany.

Marc Josemans, chairman of the Maastricht Coffee Shop Association, explained:

From the first of October, we will start with our so-called neighbouring countries criteria, which means that only people who live in Holland, Belgium or Germany are allowed to enter in the coffee shops in Maastricht.

He has sound reasoning though:

All these clients who are banned from the Dutch coffee shops right now, or the coffee shops in Maastricht at least, they have to return to the illegal circuit in their own country, therefore it will become a bigger problem and cause more criminality in those countries.

One can see his point, because, according to research conducted by the Maastricht Coffee Shop Association, an estimated 2,2 million tourists per year visit the 14 coffee shops in Maastricht, and spend almost $190 million outside the coffee shops, which equates to about 1 700 jobs for the locals.

Josemans and the rest of the coffee shop owners believe that by imposing the nationwide ban on tourists having a puff will only drive the problem to the black market, and harm the local economy.

They also blame failed government policies of other nations, and not the coffee shops as he continued:

And it’s also partly the governments’ fault in these countries. Never did the Belgian, French, German or Italian, for example, governments take their responsibilities by creating a system like we did in Holland – a safe system where people can buy their cannabis products without being approached for hard drugs and without being contacted by criminals.

Of course, this isn’t the way the Dutch health and justice ministry sees things:

This [proposed] law [banning tourists from smoking in all Dutch coffee shops] will put an end to the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drugs trafficking.

They’re keen to impose a “weedpass” system, whereby a card – only available to Dutch citizens – would prohibit tourists smoking freely, and would thereby curb drug tourism altogether.

Coffee shops would then be operated like members-only clubs, open only to local residents, and effectively barring foreign tourists from any kind of indulgence.

Al Jazeera spoke to Sebastian, an American tourist, who was already thinking of a plan to get around the ban. “I have a German driver’s licence, so I think I should be allowed in the coffee shop, right? I can be German, right?”

And so the debate continues.

[Source : Al Jazeera]