Amsterdam BANS cannabis from its famous red light district
- New laws announced yesterday aim to improve residents’ quality of life in capital
- Restaurants and bars will have to close by 2am and sex workers’ venues by 3am
Amsterdam will soon ban cannabis from its famous red light district as part of new regulations by the city.
The new laws, which were announced yesterday, will be in force from mid-May and aim to improve residents’ quality of life as they have long complained of disruption caused by tourists, the BBC reports.
Local media reported that most councillors supported taking action to reduce nuisance to residents.
The city council announced that under the new laws, restaurants and bars will have to close by 2am, on Fridays and Saturdays, the old city district would be shut to new visitors after 1am and that sex workers will have to close their venues at 3am.
‘The atmosphere becomes dire, particularly at night,’ said a city spokeswoman in a press release.
The new laws, which were announced yesterday on February 10, will be in force from mid-May and aim to improve residents’ quality of life as they have long complained of disruption caused by tourists (pictured: a customer buying cannabis in a coffee shop in the city centre of Amsterdam)
‘A lot of people are under the influence [of drugs and alcohol] and hang around for a long time. This comes at the expense of a good night’s sleep for residents and the liveability and safety of the whole neighbourhood.’
The sale of alcohol is already forbidden from Thursday to Sunday after 4pm in shops, liquor stores and cafes in the red light district.
As part of the new laws, vendors will also have to completely remove alcohol from their shopfronts during this period, or hide them from view.
In the Dutch capital, it is illegal to consume alcohol in the majority of public spaces.
Amsterdam is a popular tourist destination with millions of visitors every year, many of whom travel to the city for the cannabis cafes.
These cafes sell cannabis under strict conditions – as long as the coffee shops don’t cause any nuisance to their neighbours.
Locals have complained that tourists attract drug dealers and that drug as well as alcohol abuse is driving up crime rates in the city.
Currently, the possession, production or dealing of drugs is a criminal offence in the Netherlands, with the exception of the coffee shop operating under the ‘toleration policy’.
Between 4pm and 1am from Thursday to Sunday nights, smoking cannabis will also be forbidden in public spaces in the inner city.
If this doesn’t work, the city council said it would also look at forbidding smoking in the outside space of coffee shops.
The government has already cracked down on nuisance caused by cannabis cafes by banning tourists from them altogether.
Amsterdam city council has also outlined plans to launch a ‘stay away’ campaign in the coming months, targeting tourists that come to the capital for drugs, alcohol and sex purposes.