AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The Netherlands' political tolerance of marijuana is shrinking with new restrictions on the potency of what's sold in coffee shops, the BBC reported.
Beginning next year, police will begin spot checks of the cafes to sample marijuana and determine its potency, the broadcaster said.
The legal threshold of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, will be limited to 15 percent, legislators said. Since the 1970s, growing techniques have steadily increased the THC content of marijuana.
The coming regulations will put high-potency marijuana in the same class as other "hard" drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. It will affect as much as 80 percent of what's currently being sold, the report said.
The new reforms will also make it illegal for pot cafes to sell to non-residents -- tourists -- beginning next year.
