Planning a little trip to smoke some weed in Amsterdam’s hip and lively city centre? Not in 2023, says the municipality. 🚭
Smoking weed in the Red Light District and other parts of Amsterdam’s Old Town is set to be banned from mid-May this year, reports the NOS.
Residents are sick of unruly tourists
According to Amsterdam’s council, this blowverbod (smoking ban) is being rolled out to curb overcrowding, nuisance tourism, and public substance abuse.
Local residents have reported feeling unsafe at night thanks to tourists staying under the influence for long periods of time and attracting street dealers, says NU.nl.
This has a detrimental effect on residents’ quality of sleep, and the encouragement of buying from underhand street dealers increases the presence of crime in the city.
The council also plans to investigate whether a collection ban on soft drugs (cannabis products, sleeping pills, and sedatives like Valium) would be possible. If implemented, this ban would run from 4 PM to 1 AM from Thursday to Sunday each week.
Part of a larger push to combat nuisance tourism
This proposed smoking ban is just part of a larger list of measures that Amsterdam’s mayor and alderman cooked up last year. Other measures include:
- A ban on selling weed after 4 PM
- A ban on smoking weed in some parts of the city centre
- A curtain call at 3 AM for Red Light District sex workers
What do you think of the ‘blow ban’? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Amsterdam has been talking off banning weed in one way or another for as long as I can remember, take away the weed and you’ll destroy tourism just as the rest of the world is beginning to open up to it , as for residents complaining I’m not sure if that’s completely true or just an excuse I’ve been coming to Amsterdam for over 35 years and have never felt in any danger when walking the streets at night even on my own , a part of the problem is they shut down so many coffee shops it forces people to smoke outside as the ones remaining are always full , as for street dealers I’ve not encounted any for years unlike the old days when you couldn’t walk down the street without being called charlie by a every other person you walked by lol