A 19 March 2005 article in the Observer noted that

Coffeeshop (Netherlands) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about establishments selling cannabis. For establishments for the consumption of coffee, see coffeehouse. Not to be confused with Cannabis Social Club. [hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs to be updated. (December 2013) This article needs additional or better citations for verification. (July 2007) Coffeeshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands Part of a series on Cannabis Cannabis Arts Culture [show] Chemistry[show] Consumption[show] Economics[show] Effects[show] Forms[show] Law[show] Regional[show] Variants[show] Related[show] Cannabis portal Esculaap4.svg Medicine portal v t e The Grasshopper is a former cannabis coffeeshop in the city center of Amsterdam, Netherlands Coffeeshop license Exterior wall of a coffeeshop in the Dutch city of Groningen. Depicted are Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Beatrix, Hu Jintao, Dmitry Medvedev, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Silvio Berlusconi. A coffeeshop in Maastricht In the Netherlands, coffeeshops are establishments where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. Under the drug policy of the Netherlands, the sale of cannabis products in small quantities is allowed by licensed coffeeshops. The majority of these also serve drinks and food. Coffeeshops are not allowed to serve alcohol or other drugs, and risk closure if they are found to be selling soft drugs to minors, hard drugs or selling alcohol. The idea of licensing the sale of cannabis was introduced in the 1970s for the explicit purpose of keeping hard and soft drugs separated. In the Netherlands, 105 of the 443 municipalities have at least one coffeeshop.[citation needed] A Dutch judge has ruled that tourists can legally be banned from entering cannabis cafes, a