No Dutch Weed Pass for Amsterdam Cannabis Coffee Shops

When in Amsterdam....there will be no weed pass to enter Amsterdam Cannabis Coffeeshops. Politicians announce that the controversial weed pass will not be implemented in Amsterdam or other major Dutch cities.

Amsterdam Cannabis Coffeeshop. Photo OMy Amsterdam Tours

The weed pass was a new measure by the old coalition government that collapsed earlier this year in April. From May 2012 a pilot phase of the weed pass was introduced into towns in some land border provinces of the Netherlands.

The weed pass meant that you had to register to be a member of a Cannabis Coffeeshop to enter. To be a member you had to be a Dutch resident.

The result was that:

• Dutch people did not want to sign up for a Cannabis Coffeeshop membership.
• Cannabis Coffeeshops closed out of protest.
• Street dealing increased in weed pass areas. 
• Many street dealers were underage children.
• Dutch police had place resources on an issue that they had not dealt with on such a scale in decades.
• The Dutch justice systems had to address and allocate time to issues that had not been before the courts in some time.
• Public safety decreased because of street dealing.
• Local jobs were lost to the closure of the Cannabis Coffeeshops.
• Government lost revenue because cannabis coffeeshops were closed.
• The Netherlands government was accused of discrimination by interests groups.
• The Netherlands was laughed at by members and organisations of the international community.
• The policy did not address the issue organised crime's involvement in the market.

Dutch joints

The new measures to be introduced in a phase-in-period mean:

• You will need a Dutch passport or Dutch ID to enter coffeeshops

There are no details yet on when the new policy will be begin in Amsterdam.

There are still no infringement for a non-Dutch resident to carry less than 5 grams of Cannabis or hash.

When in Amsterdam....enjoy!