By David Stewart White
1 June, 2011
Tourists heading to the Netherlands expecting to sample legal drugs in the country's "coffee shops" are in for a surprise. Conservative Dutch politicians are pushing a law that would ban foreigners from the popular cannabis-and-cappuccino-serving shops and impose limits on local residents as well.
The Netherlands decriminalized marijuana and other soft drugs in the 1970s and Dutch residents are allowed to possess up to five grams of cannabis. Drug-related tourism is big business in Amersterdam, which is home to hundreds of pot-dispensing coffee shops.
Critics claim that the new measures will drive away tourists (and their money) and encourage illicit drug trafficking. Coffee shops are big business in Amsterdam. One popular spot, The Doors, is an entertainment venue inspired by—and paying homage to—Jim Morrison and band. The Bulldog, is even older, with roots going back to the 1970s. The Bulldog has morphed from a marijuana-dispensing cafe into a merchandising, hotel, and music empire with branch locations in Canada.
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