Amsterdam- The JOVD Heart of Brabant, Tilburg’s department of the independent liberal youth organization JOVD, criticizes the naivety of Mayor Noordanus.

The young liberals respond to the article of the Mayor on the website of the Brabants Dagblad.

Here, the mayor suggests that by the introduction of the weed pass, no increase in illegal street trading in soft drugs will occur. 'We find this assertion very naive. The demand for softdrugs will not be reduced by introducing the weed pass, and trade will shift from coffee shops to the streets,' Kjeld Otten, board member Politics, says.

The JOVD Heart of Brabant expresses its fear that once the weed pass is fully deployed, the drug tourists from abroad will go to the streets in search of drugs. Otten: 'The weed pass will not solve the problem, but only cause more for the ordinary citizen. The problem is not at the front of the coffee shop but at the back door.'

Research from several universities and experts shows that by introducing the weed pass, the illegal cannabis sales will only increase and as a result cause extra nuisance.

The coffee shops in Tilburg will be burdened unnecessarily with the banning of drug tourists and customers who wish not to register by the city council. The 5.3 fte additional police capacity is not proportional to the potential additional inconvenience that this causes.

The JOVD Heart of Brabant therefore calls for the Mayor propose to the Minister to reconsider the weed pass and not to implement the weed pass on May 1st , 2012, but to regulate cultivation.

Otten: 'With regulation, you can minimize the harmful health effects and reduce crime. In times of budget cuts, we should not look at how we are going to control but how we can regulate. Controlling consumes loads of money, while regulating provides the government an additional source of income.'