Amsterdam tourist cannabis ban rejected by mayor

[Bosonic]

Source: BBC

The mayor of Amsterdam says he will not ban foreign tourists from using the city's famous cannabis cafes, after months of argument over new drug laws.

The move comes after the new government of the Netherlands said it would be up to local authorities whether or not to impose such a ban.

Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said banning the sale of the drug to foreigners could lead to more crime.

Each year, some 1.5 million tourists visit Amsterdam to consume cannabis.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20165371

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[defacto7]

1. whew... good news for me.

[jberryhill]

2. Doing otherwise would be a bad idea

It would turn essentially turn locals into drug dealers. The only effect of a ban on sales to tourists would be the introduction of a layer of sales between shops to locals to tourists.

[Franker65]

3. Good and bad here

When I was in Amsterdam, I found it hard to enjoy the city without clouds of weed smoke blowing out of every window and stoned tourists falling around the place. Still, as was mentioned above, banning it could drive the trade underground and the tax revenue generated is quite high.

[defacto7]

13. I don't know where you were walking

but I had an apartment in Amsterdam just off the Waterloopleine and I never experienced what you described. I lived in Amsterdam off and on for 11 years. Not sure about your experience but it's highly unusual. I never smoked the stuff; I always cooked with it so I'm very sensitive to smoke. I rarely came in contact with people stoned on the street.

[pestarooney41]

16. clouds of weed smoke

my wife and myself have been going to dam for the past 13 years, we have done every tourist attraction there is and in all that time we had never experienced what you have written.
if you wish to walk round the red light there are numerous coffee shops in which civilized smokers visit and very rarely seen smoking in the streets, you will always get the minority which spoils it for the majority as in any country, city,town,village.
this is a victory for civilized people around the world i just wish more country's had the same train of thought.:head bang:

[zappaman]

18. bullshit

I've been to Amsterdam many many times, and have never seen "clouds of weed smoke blowing out of every window." Obviously, you've never been there.

[tabasco]

23. Oh bullshit. n/t

[RobinA]

4. Thanks Mayor

I haven't yet gotten to Amsterdam and it is on my bucket list. I really do want to experience getting high without the fear of being busted. Sometime. Maybe if I wait here long enough... I'm only 54.

[Comrade Grumpy]

8. You might be able to do that in Denver or Seattle next year.

Marijuana legalization initiatives look like they will win in both states.

Aspendam, anyone?

[vinny9698]

5. I being to Amsterdam several times and weed and hookers are a big tourist attraction

Money talks and tourist dollars are always beneficial to any town. Other then weed and hookers Amsterdam doesn't really have any tourist draw. It would just be an ordinary European city. I also liked the canals but that alone would not draw the crowds.

[defacto7]

15. I say you're wrong about the tourist draw....

You said, "Other then weed and hookers Amsterdam doesn't really have any tourist draw."

No, it depends on what you are looking for. The main Amsterdam draw for me are the art galleries and museums. The Nederlandse Oper (Netherlands Opera) is one of the most avant-garde and entertaining opera companies anywhere in the world. The symphony is one of the best. The history and the architecture is remarkable. The food is great IF you know where to look. It's like a maze, and you have to take time to search through it. The main tourist traps are stupid but there's good there as well.

[TeamPooka]

22. yeah and other than Broadway NYC has no reason to visit either. Please... nt

[suffragette]

25. Amsterdam is a beautiful city with many museums, including the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum,

Anne Frank's house and Rembrandt's house.

It's easy to walk, bike or ride transit around and then there are the canal boat rides, fun in themselves and also good for a view of unique houses and the floating flower market.

Also, have to love a city that has a floating cat shelter.


Maybe you need to visit again to explore it more thoroughly.

[behrstar]

6. I am an American who lived

in Amsterdam for three years in the early 90's. Fantastic city. Wonderful people. Yes, I very much enjoyed being able to purchase marijuana in the cafes, even smoke it there. My favorite place was right across the street from the police station. The stoned tourists were amusing, but the drunk ones were the problem. Traffic patterns are very complex: Sidewalks, bike paths, regular roadways, tram tracks, bus lanes, all with their own rules. Tourists wandering across all manner of paths was a problem. The Dutch themselves were not huge potheads nor whore mongers. When something is not forbidden, it probably looses some of the appeal. However, the WORST tourists in terms of drunken, stoned rudeness where by FAR Americans, Italians, and British.

[Poll_Blind]

10. I am amazed you left out the Australian tourists!

I was there in the late 90's and when I arrived I got the lowdown from one of the proprietors of the Hotel Hortus, where I was staying. He was Australian, interestingly enough, but he warned me that of all the tourists I might run into who could cause big trouble, groups of male Australian tourists were the ones most likely to actually get into physical confrontations and attack people, especially when drunk.

I was there for only a few weeks but I was out and about almost every hour of the day, with special attention to the Red Light district and the sort of Chinatown between where my hostel was and the Red Light. He was right. The Americans didn't seem to cause many problems but the British and Australians- you could hear them coming from a mile away- like a horde of mongols.

I was also amazed to see how the Dutch police, especially these little teeny blonde Dutch policewomen, would run into a melee and just start laying the smack down on guys who looked like they should have been in a Street Fighter videogame.

Amazing place.

PB

[defacto7]

14. It's true...

The drunkenness is always a problem and I found Brits to be the most difficult. Tourists wander and for the most part are not stoned, just lost. Crazy streets if you are not familiar with them.

Amsterdam was always my home in Europe.

[spiderpig]

7. I first read this as "Amsterdam tourist cannibal ban"

but I'm a fan of The Walking Dead and other zombie apocalypse stuff.

[Solly Mack]

9. I love Amsterdam. Great city.

And not because of pot. (not knocking it though)

Wonderful people.

[maxsolomon]

11. 1.5 million don't go there JUST to get high legally.

It is a great city, with fantastic museums and fascinating architecture.

Once America comes to a semblance of sanity on Drug Laws, we will have cafes just like that here. It will cease to be exotic and become a model.

[azurnoir]

12. so the mayor and the Dutch government figured it out

people aren't flocking there for the flower bulbs

[defacto7]

17. Bulbs are the typical tourist trap stuff

But no one is flocking there for dope and sex any more than for normal night life. There are groups that do, but it's not like Amsterdam is being invaded by druggies. The cannabis industry is still a very small part of Amsterdam, but it is a useful vibrant side of life there. Most of Amsterdam has nothing to do with it.

[shanti]

19. wise man

he knows what side his bread is buttered...

[Uncle Joe]

20. Kicked and recommended for the good mayor's common sense, logic and sense of justice.

Thanks for the thread, Bosonic.

[TeamPooka]

21. smart man

[and-justice-for-all]

24. "banning the sale of the drug to foreigners could lead to more crime."

He is exactly right!