The Hague, Netherlands: Dutch lawmakers are moving forward with plans to prohibit foreign travelers from patronizing ‘coffee shops’ that openly sell small quantities of marijuana. “The Cabinet expects that closure of coffee shops to foreign drug tourists will ensure that they no longer travel to the Netherlands to purchase and [consume] cannabis,” government officials announced last week. Dutch residents will still be permitted to frequent the establishments, which will function as private clubs rather than facilities that are open to the general public. The new policy “will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year,” Reuters News Wire reported . Last year the European Court of Justice, Europe’s highest court, ruled that the Dutch Cabinet is within its legal rights to impose such a ban on so-called ‘drug tourism.’ The proposed change has been called ‘ tourism suicide ‘ by members of Parliament who oppose the ban. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.
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NORML.ORG – Netherlands: Dutch Government Moving Forward With Plans To Bar Foreigners Access To Cannabis ‘Coffee Shops’