Cannabis cafes can offer takeaways to head off the return of street dealers
Dutch queued for cannabis as coronavirus closed cafes
Monday, March 16, 2020
Dutch cannabis cafes, or coffee shops, have been told they can open their doors for ‘takeaway’ deals, a day after the government ordered them shut until April 6 as part of the coronavirus clampdown. The ‘coffee shops’ now fall under the same rules as takeaway restaurants and snack bars and can sell to customers provided they don’t consume on the premises and do meet hygiene rules, officials have decided. On Sunday photographs of queues of people outside coffee shops ahead of the 6pm shutdown went global. Almost immediately, street and online drugs dealers made their presence felt, forcing mayors to urge the government to relax the rules. (See also: Dutch queue for cannabis as coronavirus closes cafes | Weed back on sale in coffee shops even as Amsterdam locks down)
