The city of Amsterdam is seeking to ban outdoor marijuana smoking and limit the sale of alcohol in its famed red-light district.
(Bloomberg) — The city of Amsterdam is seeking to ban outdoor marijuana smoking and limit the sale of alcohol in its famed red-light district.
The proposals seek to limit the nuisance caused by mass tourism, alcohol consumption and drug use, according to a statement on the city’s website. They align with Mayor Femke Halsema’s campaign to discourage visitors from coming to Amsterdam to take a “vacation from morals.”
The proposed ban is in the consultation phase and will be discussed by the city council, a city spokesperson said by email on Friday. The measures would take effect in May if adopted. Residents and business owners have until March 9 to respond.
The municipality also plans to tighten the restrictions on alcohol sales at shops and cafeterias in the district. Sales of alcoholic beverages would be prohibited after 4 p.m. between Thursday and Sunday.
While cannabis isn’t legal in the Netherlands, possession of up to five grams (0.2 ounces) is decriminalized. Licensed “coffee shops” are allowed to sell small amounts of the drug to people older than 18.
“It’s not a form of tourism we welcome or don’t welcome — it’s a form of behavior,” Halsema said in a Bloomberg interview in July. “People coming here to lose their morals is a problem for us.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.