The municipalities of Lanaken, Riemst and Voeren want to take the city of Maastricht to court if it goes ahead with its plan to move coffeeshops closer to the Belgian-Dutch border. The three municipalities have hired a Dutch law firm to represent them.
"Maastricht wants to move the nuisance caused by the coffeeshops to the border municipalities. That violates the Schengen agreements," says mayor Mark Vos of Riemst.
The municipalities are waiting before starting concrete legal action however, explains Lanaken mayor Guido Willen. "Maastricht wanted to move the coffeeshops before the end of the year, but they have since pushed that deadline back. Once the city has taken a definite decision on how to proceed, our lawyer will come into action."
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The municipalities have already set aside funds to cover the court costs.
The marijuana equivalent of out-of-town shopping malls would serve the 1.5 to 2 million people who pour into the MAASTRICHT each year in search of a powerful puff.
The municipalities of Lanaken, Riemst and Voeren want to take the city of Maastricht to court if it goes ahead with its plan to move coffeeshops closer to the Belgian-Dutch border. The three municipalities have hired a Dutch law firm to represent them.
Coffee shops licensed to sell marijuana in the southern Dutch city of Maastricht will begin fingerprinting customers and scanning their IDs this summer, a spokesman for the shops said Wednesday. The measures are aimed at ensuring the rules of the Netherlands famed tolerance policy are not violated, which could lead to shops being closed, said Marc Josemans, chairman of the Union of Maastricht's Coffee Shops.
