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Article: Amsterdam coffee shops say tobacco ban is blow to business
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- June 17, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The Netherlands' famous coffee shops, where marijuana is
available over the counter, face the threat of extinction when the
country goes smoke-free on 1 July.
Smoking dope is the raison d'tre of the cafes which are scattered
across the country, with the greatest and most famous concentration
in Amsterdam. But when the tobacco ban comes in, the coffee shops
will not be exempt.
This will lead to the paradoxical situation that only pure grass
or cannabis resin, which are not covered by the ban, can be legally
smoked in the shops.
Anybody rolling a tobacco-based joint will be breaking the law -
but only because of the tobacco. "The new rule is nonsense," said
Willem Panders, of the Dutch tobacco ...