Just Coffee Now...No Really, Just Coffee...

Draconian Drug Law of the Day: The Netherlands’ right-wing coalition government, buttressed by Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom, has announced plans to severely restrict access to the country’s world renowned “coffee shops,” banning entrance to all foreigners, and imposing membership requirements on local patrons.

“In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end,” wrote the Dutch health and justice ministers in a letter to parliament.

Dutch residents will be required to sign up for a one-year membership before being permitted to patronize a coffee shop. Each coffee shop will be allowed to dispense a maximum of 1,500 memberships, meaning many locals will likely have to seek other means of procuring pot.

The measures will be rolled out in the south this year, before making their way up north in 2012.