Amsterdam Will Ban Public Cannabis Use in the Old Town

Amsterdam is taking a step backward when it comes to cannabis. As of mid-May, it will no longer be allowed to smoke cannabis on the open street in the Old Town.

The Netherlands has long been considered a stoner paradise, but now the city is taking a massive step backward. In Amsterdam, coffee shops have been around since the 1970s, when cannabis sales are tolerated. About ten years ago, there was the first step backward in terms of cannabis.

Coffeeshop licenses were massively restricted, so it was hardly possible to acquire a license to open a new coffee shop. Now the city has also decided to ban smoking cannabis in public (Altstadt), as reported by the Berliner Zeitung.

Read more about the ban on cannabis use in public by the authorities in Amsterdam and find other important cannabis news from around the world with the Hemp.im mobile app.

Why Amsterdam is banning cannabis use in public

The reason given was that the stoned tourists could not behave and were bawling and rioting. Of course, this can also be attributed to alcohol consumption.

The thesis of the city is that the possibility to buy cannabis attracts tourists to the city, who then get stoned and riot in the city center. That is why the consumption of cannabis is restricted. Alcohol, of course, is not subject to such restrictions. Furthermore, the authorities are also thinking about restricting the opening hours of coffee shops from 4 p.m. – 1 a.m.

The current restrictions on coffee shops also read like satire

The plan to fight rioting in this way is absolutely ridiculous. For a long time, Amsterdam was actually considered a pioneer when it came to cannabis. In the meantime, massive steps backward have been taken.

Of course, people have to behave, but rioting and disturbing the peace are offenses independent of cannabis and alcohol. Instead of punishing the rioters, the coffee shop operators and regular consumers are being punished. The current restrictions on coffee shops also read like satire. Germany is finally taking a step in the right direction, while Amsterdam continues to regress into the Middle Ages.

Coffee shops are a big attraction in Amsterdam. Tourists can also buy small amounts of hashish and cannabis there. So far, the drugs can also be smoked in public. The authorities are now also examining whether sales in the coffee shops can be restricted between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m.

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(Featured image by ErikTanghe via Pixabay)

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First published in HanfJournal, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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