Are divided into two types, basically 'smoking' and 'non-smoking'. The 'Non-smoking' coffee shops are very traditional, often dark affairs, selling coffees, soft drinks and snacks. 'Smoking' coffee shops are, of course, primarily engaged in the selling and consumption of cannabis - do not confuse the two. The legalities of the 'smoking' coffee shops are extremely complex and constantly shifting, it is safe however to assume that dope scored from the more established shops will be of a far superior quality to anything purchased on the street.
Estimates suggest that there are between 1200 & 1500 ‘smoking’ coffee shops across the Netherlands.
The following is an extract from “Drugs policy in the Netherlands” Produced by The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport:
4.3. Regulation of coffee shops
The sale of small quantities of soft drugs which was initially permitted only in youth centres has for some time now been partly in the hands of commercial operators in many parts of the country. As a result, there has been a considerable increase in the retail trade in soft drugs in many municipalities throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
As explained in the introduction, coffee shops have proved to be of assistance in keeping the retail markets for soft and hard drugs separate, as desired. However, having in themselves proved their worth, coffee shops have also increased both in number and the problems they engender. Moreover, criminal organisations have gained a measure of control over some of them.
Neighbours in some municipalities complain about the nuisance caused by such phenomena as customers hanging around the streets outside coffee shops, litter and increased traffic*. Coffee shops in town centres understandably give rise to fewer such complaints than those in residential areas. Nuisance is a particular problem in municipalities along the borders because of foreign customers, who often behave in an aggressive and intimidating manner.
There has been a great deal of criticism of the establishment of coffee shops near schools and other youth centres. Occasionally there are also complaints about the sale of hard drugs in or near coffee shops. The latter is totally contrary to policy as laid down by the Public Prosecutions Department in its guidelines on coffee shops of October 1994. The Public Prosecutions Department will take stricter action against such breaches in the future. The large concentrations of coffee shops in some municipalities not only cause nuisance but also encourage the sale of hard drugs. Such concentration means that profits from the trade in soft drugs are too small for operations to be viable and is therefore undesirable from this point of view too. The assertion sometimes made abroad that hard drugs are also sold in Dutch coffee shops as a matter of course is completely erroneous, however*.
Criminal justice policy as set out in the policy guidelines on investigating coffee shops published by the Procurators-General in October 1994 (Netherlands Government Gazette 1994, no. 203), is intended to support the policy on coffee shops established in local tripartite consultations. Under strict conditions - no advertising, no sale of hard drugs, no nuisance, no sale to young people under the age of 18, and no sale of more than 30 grammes per transaction, per person - no criminal proceedings will be instituted against people involved in the sale of soft drugs in catering establishments not licensed to sell alcohol which are designated in the tripartite consultations. It is a matter of principle that only establishments which do not sell alcohol should be permitted to sell soft drugs.
The guidelines of the Public Prosecutions Department notwithstanding, the establishments which sell soft drugs still vary enormously. Strictly speaking, a coffee shop is a catering establishment which does not sell alcohol and which has no gaming machines. In practice, soft drugs are also sold in bars, video hire shops, fitness centres and people's homes. The number of such points of sale is estimated to be about 900. The number of coffee shops in the strict sense of the term throughout the country is believed to be between 1,100 and 1,200. Coffee shops also vary considerably in character, from those geared to mass sales in the cities, to neighbourhood shops or youth shops where regulars play table football, to shadowy establishments off the beaten track. Commercialism has the upper hand everywhere, with the sale of soft drugs on idealistic grounds continuing in only a few municipalities.
Many municipal authorities are endeavouring, in cooperation with the police and judicial authorities, to improve the situation as regards coffee shops and to control them better. In other words, the policy of tolerating coffee shops is being tightened up. The stage reached in the formulation and enforcement of this new policy on coffee shops differs from one municipality to another. In many municipalities, attempts are being made to drastically reduce the number of coffee shops, in some cases to half the present number, over a period of years. We support these efforts, partly because they will make the coffee shop phenomenon more manageable.
If they use them consistently, the administrative instruments available to municipal authorities should permit them to bring a great deal of the nuisance caused by the use of and dealing in soft drugs under control and keep it that way; they can also be used to refuse licences to coffee shops near schools or in streets where catering establishments are not desirable on account of the traffic situation or residential nature of the street*.
Measures to regulate the establishment of coffee shops can be taken under the terms of nuisance ordinances, the Catering Establishments Decree, the Nuisance Act, local non-licensed hotel and catering ordinances, local bye-laws and ordinances on the living and working environment. Planning regulations can be used to combat the establishment of coffee shops in unacceptable places (opposite schools, club houses and neighbourhood centres).
Measures to regulate the running of establishments can be taken in a manner similar to those under the Licensing and Catering Act, under local bye-laws, and under the terms of local non- licensed hotel and catering ordinances. A number of municipalities have also concluded voluntary agreements with coffee shop proprietors.
It is possible to establish clear standards for coffee shops using the instruments outlined above. The municipal standards then have to be enforced of course, and action really must be taken against the sale of soft drugs outside coffee shops. This requires practical agreements between the municipal authorities, the Public Prosecutions Department and the police in the tripartite consultations. The aims of this policy are to end the sale of soft drugs in bars which serve alcohol and to impose strict regulations on coffee shops as regards location, opening hours, design, sanitary facilities, parking and noise nuisance.
The attractions which an establishment holds for criminal elements plays a role in the question of whether nuisance is likely to be caused. It is therefore important that the character and background of those running coffee shops should be subject to certain requirements. Where coffee shops are concerned, this can be achieved through recourse to local ordinances on non- licensed catering establishments, by analogy with ordinances under the Licensing and Catering Act and the Decree on requirements pertaining to moral behaviour pursuant to that Act. In consultation with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) we are now examining whether model provisions on the subject can be developed. These efforts are not only intended to establish a number of quality requirements, but also to make it possible to refuse a licence or a nuisance permit if the manager or proprietor of a coffee shop has a criminal record or is acting as a front for a criminal organisation. As part of administrative efforts to combat organised crime, consideration will be given during the general review of the Licensing and Catering Act to how the powers available to municipalities to refuse or withdraw licences can be increased. In elaborating the new provisions the desirability of preventing the image of other catering establishments being damaged will also be considered.
The integrated policy described above, which combines judicial and administrative elements to regulate coffee shops, does not mean that a municipality has to tolerate the presence of one or more sales points. The municipal authorities may decide to allow no coffee shops at all. Naturally, this must be discussed with the chief of police and the public prosecutor in the tripartite consultations. Depending on the real local demand for cannabis, there is a risk in such a situation that young people would become dependent on the criminal underworld for the purchase of soft drugs. Moreover, the sale of soft drugs could shift to premises used for drugs, to bars or to the streets, the side effects of which would cause problems. The enforceability of such a policy must also be considered. Most municipalities therefore prefer to tolerate a few relatively safe points of sale. The government supports this approach, providing the standards decided upon are properly enforced. If it is decided in the tripartite consultations that no coffee shops should be permitted, the Public Prosecutions Department will institute criminal proceedings against existing coffee shops, even if they are otherwise complying with the guidelines.
A clear enforcement policy means that capacity must be provided to monitor and check licences and compliance with the Public Prosecutions Department guidelines and local ordinances. Action must be taken in response to violations of the standards set. The municipalities and the Public Prosecutions Department will be asked to do all they can to ensure this. If the coffee shop situation is to be improved and regulated, ensuring that the limits set are complied with is a primary requirement. In this connection the government would make reference to the increase in police manpower which was agreed in the government policy accord. It is legitimate to expect that the efforts required by way of monitoring and enforcement can be reduced once the situation has been improved as intended.
People operating coffee shops must pay tax on their income and will be assessed accordingly. Flows of money which are connected to the real turnover of coffee shops which comply with the requirements set by the authorities will not be regarded as unusual transactions as understood by the Unusual Transactions Disclosures Office.
We consider that a coordinated local approach is of considerable value in combating the nuisance caused by coffee shops. TheInter-administrative Task Force mentioned previously will set up a panel of experts which will be responsible for supporting municipalities, the police and the Public Prosecutions Department in the implementation of a combination of administrative and criminal law measures to regulate coffee shops and in the further development of administrative options. This office will also be able to make recommendations on policy to be followed by municipalities on other aspects of the drugs problem.
