Protestors just say no to Dutch cannabis ban
Tourists puffed on spliffs in the streets of southern Dutch cities and defiant coffee-shops sold joints to visitors in protest against a ban on selling cannabis to foreigners which took effect on Tuesday. - In Maastricht, a short drive from both the German and the Belgian borders, protesters waved banners decorated with marijuana leaves and slogans such as "Dealers Wanted" and "Stop discrimination for Belgium". In the main square, a few hundred demonstrators staged a sit-in and about 50 openly smoked joints alongside a two-meter-(6 ft)-long fake spliff. The new law rolls back the Netherlands' traditionally relaxed attitude to narcotics and clamps down on the millions of foreign "drugs tourists" who flock each year to coffee shops, famed for dispensing soft drugs. From Tuesday, the cafes in three southern provinces close to the German and Belgian borders can only sell cannabis to registered members. Authorities say the move will reduce crime.