Maastricht mayor Onno Hoes has warned the city’s 13 cannabis cafes that he will take legal action if they go ahead with plans to sell marijuana to non-residents on Sunday.

The local cannabis cafe association issued a statement earlier saying that all outlets will sell to people who do not live in the Netherlands on Sunday when the Netherlands celebrates the end of World War II.

By law the cafes, known as coffee shops, are only allowed to sell marijuana to people who officially live in the Netherlands.

Court ruling

However, a court ruling last week in favour of one coffee shop, closed by Hoes because it broke the rules, has given rise to hopes that the ban on foreigners may be dropped.

In addition, the bigger northern cities – Amsterdam in particular – have said they will use their discretion about imposing the ban, which means in effect it is being ignored.

The court ruling, which Hoes is appealing, said the mayor had failed to make it clear why foreigners should be excluded from the right to buy marijuana.