DUTCH APPROVE COFFEE AND POT FOR GERMAN TOURISTS

Venlo, Netherlands -- The Dutch border town of Venlo has approved plans to
open out-of-town coffee shops not far from Germany in a bid to keep
thousands of German drug tourists out of its centre, local officials said
on Thursday. Dubbed as "drug drive-throughs" by the locals, the new coffee
shops will cater to the growing army of German tourists who flock across
the border.

Soft drugs can be bought legally and used in small quantities in Dutch
coffee shops, which frequently offer numerous varieties of cannabis.

Elke Haanraadts, a Venlo town planner and spokesman for the project,
admitted the measure aimed at keeping foreign drug tourists out.

"I think that the German people coming especially for their 5gm of soft
drugs will benefit. It's easier for them to buy it near the road and then
go back again to Germany.

Venlo city officials estimate that some five million German people are
within striking distance of the town, which is 2km from the border.

In recent years, thousands have crossed the border daily to take advantage
of the liberal Dutch drugs regime.

Germany has substantially tougher laws and has in the past blamed the
Netherlands for an increase in its own drugs problems.

Plans for the new out-of-town coffee shops were approved at a council
meeting late on Wednesday. The new establishments are expected to open at
the start of next year.