23
23Rotterdam, Netherlands — Frankfurt,
Germany
The Dutch Opium Act of 1976 prohibits the sale of c******s. Thus, any coffee shop selling the d**g is in violation of the law. Visitors to the Netherlands find it surprising to discover the criteria for setting up a coffee shop in a Dutch municipality are punishing. For example, a coffee shop may only stock 500gm of c******s, may not advertise openly, may not sell to minors. Often, municipalities limit the number of coffee shops, and the limit fluctuates — may even drop to zero, bankrupting businesses!
It is more accurate to state that it is a ‘policy of tolerance’ that permits purchases of recreational drugs at Dutch coffee shops. This outlook is an outcome of the Directive for Opium Act Crimes for the Public Prosecutor, which calls for
