Wietpasprotest Maastricht

By J.P. Morgan.

May 2nd, 2012, Den Bosch, The Netherlands*

Hello friends, fellow cannabists, and all defenders of personal freedom,

I went down to Maastricht yesterday on the train to attend the protest against our current right-wing minority government’s first day of enforcement of the controversial new “weed pass” regulations. I wanted to show my support for Marc Josemans, and the other courageous coffeeshop owners there who are not only refusing to violate the Dutch constitution and discriminate against foreigners, but who are also refusing to register the specified maximum of 2000 Dutch customers in order to turn their names and personal information over to the police, as is now required by law.

This was truly a sad day for this country, certainly for the three southernmost provinces where the weed pass first comes into effect.

I can hardly believe this is the Netherlands. It used to have a pragmatic government that made decisions based on truthful, scientifically-based research. No more. When it comes to marijuana, the policy is now founded on gross exaggerations and outright lies.  

I’ve lived and worked here since 1992, and until now, I was free to walk into any coffeeshop in the land, and legally purchase a few grams of weed or hash for personal use. Younger people here have grown up under the Netherlands’ world-acclaimed  “gedoogbeleid” (the permissive policy towards marijuana), and they took it for granted that things wouldn’t change.

Well, yesterday, after 35 years of lower percentages of marijuana use than in most all the Western industrialized countries, things HAVE changed, and drastically.

Thanks to the VVD (Libertarian Party), the CDA (Christians), and Geert Wilders’ islamophobic PVV party, no non-resident of the Netherlands will be allowed into any marijuana-selling coffeeshop anywhere. Dutch citizens who want to continue to buy marijuana -  (LEGALLY that is), will have to order an “uittreksel” (proof of residency) from their respective city or town, and register as a “member” of only one coffeeshop – which is now a “closed club”. You’re refused entry into every other coffeeshop everywhere else, even if your chosen coffeeshop gets shut down for an infraction of some silly rule. Every year you have to reapply with another “uittreksel”, and hope your chosen shop doesn’t already have 2000 members. If you have to move to another city for your work, for example, your membership cannot be transferred to another shop.

Since being allowed only a maximum of 2000 customers doesn’t provide enough revenue to keep the business going, coffeeshop owners here in Den Bosch have already informed me that only their biggest-buying customers will be kept as members, and the rest, who don’t consistently make large purchases, will be dropped from the membership rolls.

Think about the consequences of such stupid laws for a minute. . . . people (like me!) who only smoke small amounts will now be unable to purchase their weed legally in a coffeeshop, while those who buy the maximum 5 grams every day will still have that privilege.

It’s a terrible moral dilemma for me about whether or not to risk registering. It goes without saying, of course, I feel the inherent right I claim over my own body is being violated by a paternalistic, puritanical government that is determined to constantly look over my shoulder, monitor my behavior, and dictate the personal choices that I, as an adult, should be able to make for myself.

Since I’m largely dependent on a government subsidy called the IOAW, which is meant for older folks who’ve been laid off their jobs through no fault of their own, I have great fear, and so do A LOT of people, that the government will cut my monthly benefit, and I’ll be charged a higher insurance premium. I fear the housing corporation might kick me out of my flat if they find out I’m a “drug user”. If I had a drivers’ license, I’d surely be worried about losing that too. What if your employer finds out? What if you’re looking for work, like me, and a potential employer learns that you have a membership in a coffeeshop? Do you think you’d get the job?

Until Jan.1^st 2013 however, the rest of the Netherlands remains free. Amsterdam is still very much worth a visit. The old rules still apply. As long as you’re 18 years old, you’re welcome in every coffeeshop in the city.

In my case, I can make the half-hour train trip up to Utrecht, which I intend to do soon. Since it’s not in one of the three unfortunate southern provinces, I can still go “coffeeshopping” there; at least until the end of the year. A fabulous new designer-art coffeeshop called Hi-Lo has just opened up in the Croeselaan, and I can't wait to check it out. The owner, Moos Mazied, has invested much money in it, and it took him a full six years to get all the necessary permits. It’s doubtful he can ever recoup his investment under the new regulations, however. This is the first coffeeshop to be allowed to open in Utrecht in 20 years, and it will most likely be the only coffeeshop that will ever open its doors again.

The Dutch right wing is no doubt celebrating their victory over us with liters of cognac, whiskey, etc. tonight. I wish them the worst hangovers of their lives.

And hangovers there will certainly be.

Today in Venlo, two shops closed for good. The city council had earlier ordered them to move to the German border in order to prevent traffic jams in the town center. All their customers were Germans, so they don’t have any customers anymore.

Since only about 30 people so far have applied for coffeeshop membership in the city of Eindhoven, the coffeeshops there are empty, just like they are in Tilburg, and here in Den Bosch as well. Willem Vugs, owner of one of the best shops in the south, - Toermalijn in Tilburg, is also defying the new rules, and has closed in protest, along with all but two of the other shops there. In Breda, to the west of Den Bosch, there are now 20 separate rules in effect that a coffeeshop must abide by. The shop owners there have bent over backwards to comply, but at least two out of Breda’s eight coffeeshops will be forced to close anyway because they’re within the new 350 meter limit of a school. (The new rules also include kindergartens.)

Dutch Minister of Justice Ivo Opstelten, - one of the main turds who started all this shit – has sent extra police to watch the shops. This is clear proof that he and the Christians KNOW FULL WELL that the inevitable result of their impossible regulations will be an enormous increase in street dealing, where hard drugs will again be sold alongside marijuana, and there is no minimum age limit. Or rather, minimum age limit: 10 Euros. Street dealers are looking forward to golden times! It’s the coffeeshops that are the easiest and most visible and vulnerable targets in this government’s war on cannabis, so that’s what they focus on. This government has NO credibility. They’re a cheap Dutch version of the American Republican party.

Obviously, I could go on for a long time . . . .

Here are some notes on the pictures:

(1)   and (2) A crowd of both foreign and domestic protesters assembles at the Maastricht train station.

(3) “Looking for a dealer”. These two young men will have to buy their weed from a street dealer instead of a coffeeshop now. (What the guy on the left is smoking is the legal kind, the kind that gives you cancer and heart disease.)

(4)   Awhile later, protesters who had just delivered a petition to the city council came to join us at the station. Several hundred employees who work at coffeeshops have just lost their jobs, and many other businesses, such as restaurants, clothing stores, etc. will suffer losses in revenue that were previously generated by foreign “drug tourists”. This photo was made, after some speeches at the station, when we were starting to cross the historic St. Servaas bridge on the way to the Maastricht city hall.

(5)   Blurry photo, but this is about half of the crowd of protesters marching through the town in the midst of curious onlookers sitting outside at cafes. Fortunately, it was warm spring weather, and not rainy. We took turns shouting “Weg met de wietpas!” (Away with the weed pass!), so that every on-looker understood our message.

(6), (7) and (8) Here we are at “het stadhuis” – Maastricht’s city hall. There was an appropriate police presence to be sure, but there were no incidents, and no arrests. We even gave the police a round of applause for their professional restraint. They seemed a little surprised at our compliments since we are committed “cannarchists”, and we loudly proclaim that we really HATE these ridiculous new regulations; - regulations that are specifically designed to kill off the coffeeshops one by one. If this prude government can’t close a coffeeshops with one law, they’ll simply come up with another.

(9) And close the coffeeshops they did. Here are some of the people who were hoping to purchase a gram or two at Coffeeshop Easy Going. Easy Going is now closed, along with every other shop in Maastricht.

Easy Going is where it all started. Owner Marc Josemans announced to the press, and to the police, that he would open as usual at 11 AM on May 1st, and continue selling to Belgians, Germans, French, Brits, Italians, Spanish, Greeks, and everyone else regardless of nationality, just as he always has in the past. Neither he, nor any other Maastrichtse coffeeshop owners registered their Dutch customers, either. This is an act of civil disobedience that has enraged Maastricht mayor Onno Hoes (VVD Libertarian party), and the haughty-taughty CDA Christians in Parliament. He and the other coffeeshop owners in Maastricht voluntarily closed their shops in protest, but since he intends to do the same thing on May 2^nd, he will then be officially shut down by the police. Meneer Josemans will challenge the closing in court. I wish him success, but it looks hopeless.

Other coffeeshops like Heaven 69, which is also a very nice restaurant, have closed simply because nobody wants to register. More like: nobody in their right mind would want to register!

I was very happy to meet Marc Josemans when he emerged from Easy Going after a 2^nd visit by the police. I tried to express to him in my best Dutch how much I admired his resistance against the almighty power of the state. I was disappointed that I could not go into his shop, buy a gram of cannabis, and relax with a smoke after the demonstration started to wind down. I hadn’t even brought any weed with me!

By then it was late afternoon, and I was starting to get hungry. But I could not eat dinner at the wonderful Heaven 69. I hadn’t been there in a long time, and I was really looking forward to it. But I wouldn’t be allowed inside anyway even as a Dutch citizen, because I wasn’t registered there! All this from the VVD Libertarian party which is supposed to stand for “Freedom and Democracy”. Ha! They’ve lost my vote forever, even though I agree with them on certain issues. And their partners, the CDA Christians – they can all go straight to Hell, as far as I’m concerned. They’re not happy unless they can find a witch to burn. It makes them feel so much better about themselves.

Surprisingly, VVD Mayor Onno Hoes (Oh no!) is livid because the coffeeshop owners have closed their places of business. After demonizing them, and lying about them for so long, he’s suddenly angry that they’re closed! Now he wants to hold them responsible for all the street dealing that has ALREADY started to occur. Closed coffeeshops are a godsend for untold numbers of illegal dealers, and they’re seeing euro signs flashing in their eyes. In addition to heroin, cocaine, GHB and pills, they can also offer weed now! Still, as always, the coffeeshops are to blame, even if they’re no longer in operation.

Last of all, here are scans of the flyers in Dutch and English that are being handed out by The Grass Company, where I’ve bought most of what I’ve smoked since moving to Den Bosch. The Grass Company is following the strict new rules to the letter. I’d admire them more if they resisted and were shut down, really, but they were busted just a few months ago when their stash was discovered. The owner, Marco de Jong, has a lot at stake with four neat, well-managed shops, two of which also serve meals, and more than 100 employees. The franchise to the left of Tilburg’s Central Station is an up-scale, two-story restaurant with delicious food at reasonable prices. I won’t be allowed to enjoy a meal there ever again, and most of the waitresses, cooks, service personnel and managers have been laid off. I don’t know how Marco will be able to keep paying the rent on such a big, empty place with only 2000 possible customers.

It promises to be a long, hot summer in the south of the Netherlands.

I’ll try to keep everybody informed.

Met vriendelijke groet,

J.P. Morgan

P.S. One other absurdity due to the weed pass is that no Dutch citizen who happens to be living in another country is allowed to register at a Dutch coffeeshop.

 *(Gepubliceerd met toestemming van J.P. Morgan, met dank)

Interview Marc Josemans: