NORML UK and other cannabis activists across Europe are welcoming the announcement that Dutch cities are set to ditch their proposed Wietpas (“WeedPass”) scheme, which would have allowed only Dutch nationals to buy cannabis in the country’s famous coffeeshops. At least 1.5 million of the city’s seven million visitors a year go to a coffeeshop.

The measure proposed by the previous Christian Democrat government would have forced the coffeeshops to become private members’ clubs, limited to only 2,000 members each and open only to Dutch residents, thereby banning sales to foreigners. The scheme had already been introduced in some parts of southern Holland, where critics say it has already lead to increased street dealing.