DRIVE IN COFFEE SHOP AT GERMAN BORDER

The Dutch city Venlo decided to finally execute the plan to create a drive-in coffee shop at the German - Dutch border to fight the annoyance of drug tourists in the centre of town. The owner of two coffee shops in the centre received a licence for the exploitation run a new coffee shop close to the German border. In exchange the owner has to close his two coffee shops in town.

The Dutch Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner is not very happy with the initiative. The Dutch Christian Democrats want to close all coffee shops in Venlo. They want to gradually close all coffee shops in The Netherlands. In 2003 the Dutch agreed on new European rules to fight drugs trade. Officially the penalties are severe, but in practice the Dutch toleration policy will stay.

Donner doubts if there is a real necessity to establish these drive-in coffee shops. He sees more in border crossing German-Dutch police cooperation. For this the police project Hector was set-up in 2001. Since than the Dutch and German police cooperate in fighting the drug trade, the annoyance and the sales of soft drugs.

Through following drug tourists and advising them to go to the tolerated coffee shops and not on the streets the Hektor project is quite successful in diminishing the annoyance created by the mostly German drug tourists. The experimental project strives for increasing cooperation with the German cities on the border. Especially because most of the growing group of drug couriers comes from Germany .

Through this international cooperation and information the Hektor project wants to fight drug annoyance caused by drug tourism. Especially the police profits form the cooperation with the neighbour colleagues. Some German police officers already worked as a member of the Hektor team in the centre of Venlo .

At the same time some cities in the south of the Netherlands proposed an idea to the German cities near by to start coffee shops at both sides from the border. This to fight the annoyance of especially German drug tourism. The German authorities already indicated that there will be no chance for this plan. Also they expect a lot from the cooperation between the police forces of both countries.

The Dutch Minister of Justice also came up with a plan to introduce special coffee shop cards. For this system clients of a coffee shop have to a member to get in and to buy soft drugs. Most of the coffee shop owners state that an identification system will create a new illegal underground market. There will be members of a coffee shop that sell the soft drugs to others that are not allowed to buy. The plan of Minister Donner to simply forbid German citizens to buy soft drugs in The Netherlands was rejected by a Dutch judge on the basis of discrimination. more features

February 20, 2004