Global Ganja Report

The Dutch government's plan to stop tourists from purchasing cannabis was apparently set back June 29 by a decision by the country's top legal advisory body. The Council of State, ruling on a 2006 Maastricht ordinance barring foreigners from "coffee shops," said the city had overstepped its authority, because cannabis sale is already theoretically illegal in the Netherlands by national law—even if under the law goes virtually unenforced under the country's tolerance policy.

"Given this absolute ban laid down in law, in a formal sense there's no room for a municipality to further regulate the sale of marijuana and hash by its own ordinances," the ruling said. The ruling also found that barring non-residents from buying cannabis would not be unconstitutional discrimination—if done at a national level.

The Dutch Cabinet wants to curtail the country's tolerant drug policy to address supposed "problem" of an estimated 3.9 million French, German and Belgian buyers who drive across the border annually to purchase herb. It also wants to crack down on organized crime gangs its says control the cannabis growing industry. (AP, June 29)

Photo by prensa420