<P> Cannabis coffeeshops in the RLD and elsewhere in the Netherlands are licensed to sell cannabis and serve soft drinks . Food, alcohol, and indoor tobacco smoking are generally not permitted . </P> <P> Before the onset of coffeeshop licensing, some began openly selling cannabis . The first coffee shops opened in the 1970s . These faced trouble from police and the local councils with frequent closures . In 1976, the government of the Netherlands began to take steps to decriminalize the use and possession of cannabis by changing the law so that possession of up to 30 grams of cannabis was no longer a criminal offense . </P> <P> The gedoogbeleid or tolerance policy gave rise to coffeeshop licensing which meant that as long as coffeeshops did not sell hard drugs, they were allowed to operate . Coffeeshops were not allowed to operate in certain cities near the borders of Germany and Belgium because it was felt soft drug use might raise crime there . </P> <P> The government of Netherlands has continually been under pressure from different western countries to rein in coffeeshops, leading to several coffeeshops being shut down for flouting rules, with no licenses issued to new operators . This approach has continued since 1995 . In the 1990s, the coffeeshop owners organized themselves into a union, the Bond van cannabis Detaillisten or BCD, set up to represent the interests of the coffeeshops which were under constant pressure from local councils . </P>

History of the red light district in amsterdam