CANNABIS CULTURE – When I look back on 2020, the first thing that will pop in my head is the line from the old Scottish Proverb. “The best laid plans…”
Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten told parliament last week that the government intends to classify marijuana with a THC content of 15% or more as a Class A drug like heroin and cocaine and bar it from being sold in the country's famous cannabis coffee shops.
A ruling in the Dutch courts means that foreigners heading to Amsterdam's famous marijuana cafés will soon will be banned from buying cannabis in a bid to end drug tourism to the Netherlands.
Foreigners traveling to the Netherlands will be barred from buying marijuana in so-called coffee shops next year, a move that could hurt tourism to the capital, Amsterdam.
The country will no longer be a stoner's paradise thanks to a new policy that will bar non-Dutch residents from cannabis cafés in the southern reaches of the country beginning Jan. 1.
The Netherlands is embarking on a crusade against its multi-billion-euro marijuana industry, with significant implications both for its economy and its famously liberal approach to life.
In total, 58 of the country's 650 plus cannabis cafes break government rules on their proximity to schools and face closure, according to news agency ANP on Monday.