Dutch marijuana advocates face off with Cabinet

Associated Press
Wednesday, April 18, 2012

coffeeshopDutch coffee shop owners went to court in a last ditch bid to block a government plan to stop foreigners from buying marijuana in the Netherlands. The coffee shops oppose what would be the most significant change in decades to the country's famed soft drug tolerance: turning marijuana cafes into "members only" clubs open solely to Dutch residents. Members would only be able to get into the coffee shops by registering for a "weed pass" and the shops would only be allowed a maximum of 2,000 members. The move comes into force in the south of the country May 1 and is scheduled to roll out nationwide on Jan. 1, 2013.