Netherlands Outlaws Tourists in the Cannabis Cafes

"A judge in the Netherlands has upheld a new law to ban foreign tourists from entering cannabis cafes. While soft drugs are tolerated, there is growing concern at tourists visiting just for drugs, and foreign dealers selling illegally at home. The ban is due to start in three southern provinces next month, and go nationwide by the end of the year. A group of cafe owners argued at The Hague district court that the ban was discriminatory against foreigners."

I heard this excerpted on the BBC World News as I drove home from the U yesterday. It is a rather strange situation and issue. From my perspective, I suspect it will slow the economy significantly in those regions of the Netherlands where the Cafes are located, for I think the tourist use probably represents the lion's share of patrons.

 I have never tried cannabis. I have wondered what it is like. I even thought that maybe if some year one of the research meetings I attend is in the Netherlands, I *might* try it in one of those cafes. Now it looks like that is no longer even a pipe dream. Oh well.

 PipeTobacco