Gerard Meij announced the plan last month On. This is a non-commercial coffee shop, where the proceeds go to charities, such as help for lonely elderly people and drug prevention. The most important goal is to get the weed sales in Waterland – where there are no legal points of sale at the moment – from illegality.
Good luck for Gerard Meij
During the council meeting on Thursday evening, ten councilors voted against Meij and six. There was voting per councilor instead of per party, because there were division over the plan within some groups, such as GroenLinks and the PvdA.
The coffee shop can now be realized with this majority.
Meij responds enthusiastically to the decision. “I am very happy. A lot of time and effort has been put into it, and behind the scenes I worked hard to get a majority,” he tells NH.
Whether he expected this result? “If you had asked me this a year ago, I would have said no. At first I didn’t know how the local parties were in it. They are the biggest, so their support was crucial.”
‘Remove drugs from the twilight world’
And that support came on Thursday evening. The local parties your Waterland and Waterland of course voted for Meijs Plan. Andre Schomakers (Je Waterland) emphasized that he personally is not in favor of ‘stimulating agents’, but that he sees the benefits of a coffee shop.
“I have read well and see again and again that experts indicate that legalization of soft drugs helps to remove it from the twilight world. In addition, research shows that legalization does not lead to an increase in use. That is why we support this plan,” says Schomakers.
Kitty Tobias (Waterland of course) agrees. “Whether we like it or not, drug use is a reality, also in Waterland. As a government, we can try to completely forbid it, but in practice that has little effect. Doing nothing and allowing it to the eyes, is therefore not an option. That is why we vote for a regulated approach,” she says.
‘No support among residents’
The opposition came from the CDA and the VVD, among others. Tjeerd Hoekstra (VVD) points out that cannabis is still “forbidden under the Opium Act” and for that reason voted against.
Bert Enderink (CDA) speaks of “principle objections” and he thinks it is unwise to normalize drug use. In addition, he emphasizes the lack of support among residents. “I spoke with many people in the municipality and especially hear opponents. Apparently I speak to people other than D66,” says Enderink.
Meij acknowledges that some inhabitants are reluctant. In his plea, he referred to a conversation with members of the Youth Council Marken. They fear that the arrival of a coffee shop will further aggravate drug use among young people, which is already high.
The D66 councilor emphasizes that he has heard their concerns, but that he has the same goal in mind. “Just like the Marken Youth Council, we do not want our youth to go down to drugs. We only see a different way to achieve this. It is precisely by opening a coffee shop that money is released for information and prevention,” he says.
How to proceed?
Now that the motion has been adopted, implementation can begin. “First we draw up policy rules. We do this together with stakeholders, experts and councilors. Then entrepreneurs can register with a plan. The best plan gets the permit,” says Meij.
This can go pretty fast. “It is difficult to estimate, but I hope the coffee shop will be there this year,” said the satisfied councilor.
The precise location of the coffee shop is not yet known, but Meij has a clear preference. “In principle it is possible everywhere in Waterland. But because Monnickendam is a bit the ‘capital’ of our municipality, that is most obvious.”