Demo as tourists face marijuana ban in Netherlands

A policy barring foreign tourists from buying marijuana in the Netherlands went into effect in parts of the country today, with attention focused on the southern city of Maastricht, where a cafe was warned over violating the ban and around 200 smokers marched in protest.

Weed is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but it has been sold openly for decades in small amounts in designated cafes known as “coffee shops” under the country’s famed tolerance policy.