German customs officers are almost constantly at the border with the Netherlands because of drug smuggling. Every month they seize kilograms and kilograms of marijuana from smugglers and dealers, but a few grams are also found with so-called drug tourists, mostly younger people, who visit the Netherlands solely because of the widely liberal laws on the consumption of light drugs.
They all come from Amsterdam, which is the Mecca of drug tourism. In the city there are more than 200 coffeeshops where marijuana is smoked, there is a hashish museum, even a marijuana college. These are all offers for those who come to the city for one reason only - for marijuana.
"My dream was to come to Amsterdam and smoke weed, because it's forbidden in France," says one Parisian. "I arrived two hours ago, this is my first joint and it's really something special", declares his friend in a conversation with a DV reporter in one of the coffee shops.
Tulips instead of marijuana
Christian Democrat MP Koskun Koruz, whose party advocates a law that would ban foreigners from visiting coffee shops, believes that tourists who come for drugs only attract criminals. "The Netherlands is something like a European marijuana country, the marijuana that is smoked is mostly grown here. This worries me and I think it is not good. I want to live in a country whose symbols are tulips, milk and cheese."
Psychiatrist Frederik Polak has a different opinion. He smokes marijuana and lives in Amsterdam. For him, the Netherlands is a symbol of tolerance.
"It is possible to try to ban the smoking of marijuana, but that only makes the situation worse. And in other foundations, they could solve things like here in the Netherlands. We don't have problems with excessive drug use here."
An illegal market will flourish
Most of the customers in Amsterdam coffeeshops are foreigners. In coffeeshops, they tell them how strong each herb is. The owners fear that they will lose their jobs if foreigners are banned from visiting, but not only because of that.
"Then we will be like America in the twenties, during Prohibition when alcohol was banned. A black market will emerge. There will be many people who will make illegal money from it. I don't think it's good, it would be at the expense of security," says Mark Jakobs, the owner of a coffee shop.
Amsterdam and other cities will have much less tourists
Foreigners should disappear from coffee shops in a few weeks. Tourists will then be left to dubious street dealers. And coffee shop owners will face bankruptcy. "Then I'll have to open a regular cafe," says Jakobs.
Crossing the border will continue to be smuggled, perhaps consumption will increase.
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