The days are numbered for tourists wanting to legally puff on a joint in an Amsterdam cannabis café.

Conservative Holland MPs are pushing legislation that will control who can use the infamous shops that sell marijuana and products containing the drug, the Daily Mail reported.

By the end of this year, only Dutch residents will be able to enter the special cafés.

Customers will have to sign up to a yearly membership to the coffee shops and each shop will be limited to 1500 members.

The law is a bid to reduce the number of foreigners who visit the country solely to get a legal high – and abuse the privilege.

"This law will put an end to the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drugs trafficking," a statement from the Dutch health and justice ministries said.

But the move has been slammed as "tourism suicide" by opposition MPs and those in the hospitality industry.

Marc Josemans, who owns the Easy Going Café, says the country will "lose money and jobs" if the law comes into effect.

The country decriminalised marijuana in the 1970s and has about 750 coffee shops, 220 of them in Amsterdam.

The cannabis cafés were thought of as a good way to control drug use – but it wasn't long before they became big tourist attractions.

The city of Maastricht alone had 1.4 million "drugs tourists" last year. Foreigners accounted for 70 percent or sales, worth almost 10 million Euros.

There are also fears the law change will result in Dutch residents selling the drugs to foreigners for an inflated price. Residents are allowed 5g of marijuana in their possession.

More at http://nz.totaltravel.yahoo.com/a/-/9542741/holland-to-ban-tourists-from...