Dutch mayors close pot-selling cafes

BERGEN OP ZOOM, Netherlands, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Two mayors in the Netherlands have taken steps to shut down all local businesses legally selling cannabis.

Officials in the towns of Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal claim their communities are suffering from the nuisance caused by foreign tourists in search of drugs banned in their home countries, Radio Netherlands reported Friday.

Eight coffee houses that sell marijuana will close their doors in the Dutch towns. The mayors are not opposed to the use or sale of cannabis, the network reported.

"There are 25,000 drug tourists per week who visit these coffee shops," said Bergen op Zoom Mayor Han Polman. "That leads to a lot of nuisance, and there are links to illegality, there's criminal activity going on. People in our cities are asking us to make the streets safe so we have no choice but to close the coffee shops."