Cannabis entrepreneur Arjan Roskam takes Dutch state to court on charges of violation of the Dutch constitution.

Press Release – For Immediate Release
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (April 16, 2012) – Cannabis entrepreneur Arjan Roskam takes Dutch state to court on charges of violation of the Dutch constitution.

(Amsterdam) New proposals for anti-drug laws in The Netherlands call for restrictions being placed on who can buy cannabis in infamous Dutch coffee shops. The Dutch government is trying to set up a system that judges people by ethnicity and nationality in violation of the Dutch constitution. Far-right politicians have proposed legislation that would only allow Dutch residents to enter cannabis-selling coffee shops. This legislation would require Dutch residents to register as members of the cannabis-selling coffee shops and would prohibit any foreigners from becoming members. The membership system, also known as the “weed pass”, is not supported by any of the Amsterdam political parties besides the Christian Democratic Party.
Together with a legal team of 4 well-known cannabis-business-branch lawyers, Arjan Roskam (a well-known cannabis entrepreneur) has decided to take the Dutch state to court, claiming the new legislation is a violation of the Dutch constitution. According to Roskam “the introduction of the weed-pass, and banning tourists from coffee shops would only be possible through local regulation on the grounds that the visitors of coffee shops create a public disturbance. The legislation as proposed by the Dutch state calls for a national ban on tourists in coffee shops, however if the local municipality is against the legislation it is not possible for the Dutch state to enforce such a ban.” Roskam continues to explain, “Artikel (or) Clause 1 of the Dutch constitution states that all that are in The Netherlands will be treated equally, discriminating based on religion, lifestyle, political views, race, gender on any ground is not allowed. For this reason, the national ban on tourists visiting coffeeshops would violate our constitutional rights here in the Netherlands by discriminating against foreigners.”
Arjan Roskam and his legal team are scheduled for a court hearing on the 18^th of April 2012 where they will challenge the Dutch state for violating the Dutch constitution.