While Australians fight over toilet paper and pasta, people in The Netherlands are showing very different priorities as they line up in dozens to bulk buy weed.
The panic buying comes following the Dutch government’s announcement that the country’s ‘coffee shops’ would have to be shut because of the coronavirus.
With fears of a long quarantine ahead of them, locals began lining up to get their hands on the precious resource.
Image: Getty
“For maybe for the next two months we’re not able to get some weed so it should be nice to at least have some in the house,” one cannabis buyer in the Hague told the AFP.
“I wouldn’t mind having a little bit of weed — keep it easy while we’re at home for so long. It might be a long time in quarantine,” said an Irish woman who gave her name as Hannah as she queued in The Hague.
On top of these cafe closures, sex clubs in Amsterdam’s red-light district have now been ordered to shut by 6pm.
Image: Esteban Lopez/Unsplash
Many Dutch businesses and all Dutch schools will also be closed.
According to the Calgary Sun, a similar scenario is playing out in Canada where cannabis has been legalised.
Pot retailers have reported seeing an upturn as customers stock up – although they believe the demand for toilet paper in the is still higher.