Dutch courts move to ban marijuana cafés

Under the proposals, cafés licensed to sell marijuana will have to introduce a checking system of locally issued “grass or weed passes” to Dutch residents in order to prevent foreign smokers from buying drugs.

Turnover of the legal “coffee shop” trade is estimated to be at least £1.6 billion every year, with tourist accounting for a significant income for cities like Amsterdam.

The ban edged close on Friday, after group of café owners lost a case at The Hague district court that the ban is discriminatory unless it can be proved that foreigners are causing more of a public order problem than locals.

Maurice Veldman, the lawyer for the Cannabis Retailers Association, attacked the ruling and accused the judges of having caved into political pressure.

“It is a 100 per cent political verdict to defend the state. There is no public order problem with coffee shops in cities like Amsterdam,” he said.

Mr Veldman said that under existing laws city authorities could ban foreigners “in cases of severe public disturbance” but that measures had never been used “since coffee shops are notorious for their peaceful and non-violent ambience”.

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