Dutch Banning Tourists From Buying Pot

The hazy days of drug tourism in Holland are numbered. The Dutch government has unveiled plans to ban foreigners from buying cannabis in the country's famous coffee shops, reports the Los Angeles Times. The coalition government's plan, backed by Geert Wilders' far-right party, requires the shops to become members-only establishments, with membership restricted to Dutch citizens over 18.

"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," said the Dutch health and justice ministers. The ban on sales to foreigners will be introduced in the country's southern provinces later this year before being extended to the rest of the nation, including Amsterdam, where some of the city's 220 cannabis cafes are already closing down. (More cannabis stories.)