Dutch Officials Reversed A Decision To Force Cannabis Coffee Shops To Close

Dutch coffee shops are famous for serving cannabis. People have traveled from all over the world for multiple decades to Dutch coffee shops in order to purchase cannabis and enjoy the local culture. As with virtually everything right now, Dutch coffee shops are being affected by the spread of the coronavirus.

Initially, Dutch coffee shops were instructed to close out of caution, which led to the hoards of consumers lining up outside of the coffee shops to make one last purchase. Media coverage from around the world showed long lines of people waiting out in front of the shops.

That initial decision was reversed this week, with Dutch officials stating that the shops could remain open, albeit in a limited capacity. Per NOS:

Mayors already urged the cabinet today that the coffee shops should be allowed to open their counters again. They feared that the illegal drug street trade would flourish again due to the forced closure. So they hear their call.

Customers of takeaways and coffee shops are advised to avoid crowds. Also, the purchased items may not be consumed on the spot.

The decision comes in the same week that officials in San Francisco and New York in the United States deemed the cannabis industry to be ‘essential’ and dispensaries were allowed to remain open despite many other types of businesses being ordered to close.

While many people use cannabis for recreational purposes, many also use cannabis for purely medical purposes. For some of those patients, their only safe access to cannabis is via Dutch coffee shops, and from that standpoint, it’s great to see that people will continue to have that access.