Amsterdam Bans Cannabis Use on Streets of Red Light District

For many tourists, Amsterdam’s red-light district has long been a destination for escaping the laws and restrictions of everyday life, a place where anything goes. But the people who live there seem ready to settle down.

Amsterdam’s city council announced last Thursday that it would ban the use of cannabis in the streets of its red-light district, citing the typically “annoying” and “gloomy” atmosphere during the night hours.

official Said It has indicated its intention to implement the rule in mid-May.

“Old town residents suffer from mass tourism and the abuse of alcohol and drugs on the streets. Tourists also attract street vendors that cause crime and unrest. “People are hanging around for a long time. Residents don’t sleep well and the neighborhood becomes unsafe and uninhabitable,” the council said. Statement Thursday.

“No smoking on the street should reduce nuisance. We are also considering banning soft drugs during certain hours. We will investigate whether we can,” the council added.

As pointed out by Reuters, The move is “part of a campaign by Femke Halsema, Amsterdam’s first female mayor, to make the neighborhood more livable for residents.”

according to CNNIn recent years, “there have been multiple initiatives to reduce the impact of mass tourism and unwanted visitors and to revamp the image of the area”.

Since becoming mayor of the Dutch capital in 2018, Halsema has made reforming the city’s red-light district a priority.

In 2019, Halsema presented “four options aimed at protecting sex workers from hostile conditions, tackling crime and reducing the impact of tourism in Amsterdam’s De Wallen red light district,” CNN report At the time, this included “closing the window curtains so that sex workers could not be seen from the street, reducing window-style rooms, moving brothels to other parts of Amsterdam, and the possibility of a ‘hotel’ for sex workers.” was included. under construction “

“For many visitors, sex workers are just a sight to see, sometimes accompanied by disruptive behavior and disrespectful attitudes towards sex workers by the window,” the mayor’s office said in a statement at the time. As quoted by CNN.

In addition to the no-smoking bill announced on Thursday, Amsterdam City Council said: “One of the measures already decided is to force catering establishments and entertainment venues with a catering license to close their doors at 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. , as opposed to the current 3 or 4 am closing time.

“Then prostitution businesses could remain open until 3 a.m., but now until 6 a.m.,” the council said. We also want to close the terrace at 1am in the summer, and now it’s 2am.”

The council also said the sale of alcohol by shops, liquor stores and cafeterias would remain prohibited “from Thursday to Sunday at 4pm.”

according to CNN“It is estimated that about 10% to 15% of Amsterdam’s tourism industry is based in what the Dutch commonly call the De Wallen district”.