Three Maastricht Cafes Scrutinized for selling weed

On Wednesday, three Dutch coffee shops located in Maastricht went on trial for selling cannabis to foreigners. The latest legislation in Maastricht prohibits cafes from trading marijuana cannabis to tourists and visitors. Curious about the legality of the latest rules, the owners and staff of the three coffee shops served weed to foreign customers. They were arrested in May. Another batch of cafe owners is set to go on trial this month. Smokers High Life (flickr) Prosecutors requested the judges to order payment of over €5,000, community service, and imprisonment for a certain of time, as punishment. In Maastricht , drug tourists from adjacent countries can easily come to the city and visit coffees shops by means of car. In Amsterdam, however, foreign visitors must ride planes and trains to tour the whole the city. According to huffingtonpost, cafe owners and authorities confirmed that an estimated two million drug tourists arrive in Maastricht every year to purchase drugs in fourteen cafes. Most of the coffee shops were closed by willing owners. Other shops were shut down by the ordinance of the City Hall. The number of drug tourists dropped when the new law was implemented last year in three southern provinces. On January 1, 2013, the law was extended to the rest of the country.