Dutch ditch controversial 'weed pass' law
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In this June 15, 2008 file photo, pre-rolled joints are seen on an english language menu listing the variety of hash and marijuana on sale at The Green House coffee shop in Amsterdam, Netherlands. -- PHOTO: AP
THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch cities are to decide themselves whether to bar foreign drug tourists from so-called coffee-shops, after the government scrapped its unpopular "weed pass" law.
The move will allow Amsterdam to keep pulling in millions of foreign soft-drug users, while allowing border towns to clamp down on crime related to drug tourism.
"The best way of seeing which measures are effective is at local level," Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten said in a letter sent to parliament late Monday.
"We are abandoning the 'cannabis card'," he added.
