Belgian mayors attend to ‘weeds top’ to combat soft drugs

BILZEN – Mayors of the Belgian border municipalities have urged the Netherlands to drop its policies on soft drugs and the so-called ‘coffee shops.’ The mayors noted that Dutch policies, which turn a blind eye to personal use of soft drugs, are creating problems in 25 municipalities along the Dutch-Belgian border. The mayors attended a recent conference to deal with the increased usage of soft drugs in their jurisdictions. The mayors also pleaded for a uniform EU policy on the matter. They met with Gert Leers, the mayor of Dutch Limburg’s provincial capital of Maastricht who rejects the suggestion that soft drugs selling coffee shops are the problem. Instead, Leers blames the problems in the Belgian municipalities on the trade in illegal drugs. Mayor Freddy De Vilder of Zelzate, a municipality close to the southwestern Dutch town of Terneuzen noted that the usage of soft drugs in his area has dropped significantly since a large coffee shop in Terneuzen was shut down.