Locals and city officials have had enough of unruly tourists visiting Amsterdam's cannabis cafes. Photo / Shelby Ireland, Unsplash
Locals and city officials have had enough of unruly tourists visiting Amsterdam's cannabis cafes. Photo / Shelby Ireland, Unsplash
Mowing the grass, hitting the hay, blazing up; no matter what you call it, tourists have thoroughly enjoyed returning to Amsterdam and visiting their famous cannabis cafes.
It seems, they've been having a little too much fun and a rise in antisocial behaviour from foreigners has irritated locals asking for a ban.
Put forward by Amsterdam's ecologist mayor Femke Halsema, the proposal would only allow Dutch residents to visit the 166 marijuana-selling cafes.
During an interview with NOS public television earlier this year, Halsema said, while they wished to attract tourists, they wanted people visiting for the right reasons.
"We would like them to come for its richness, its beauty and its cultural institution," she said.
"The problem is: there are just too many of them. The drug tourists are the reason for an increase in demand for marijuana."
People relaxing in front of Smokey coffeeshop in Amsterdam. Photo / 123rf
One 26-year-old resident named Milan told local media DW: "I was just chilling on my bed when I saw someone outside who just sat down and then he puked into the window.
"They have no respect. It's a neighbourhood but they don't see it as a neighbourhood where people live."
Mayor Halsema previously proposed the ban in February 2020 even after a commissioned report found that one-third of tourists would not visit as a result.
Gary Gallagher, who manages Amsterdam's Cannabis Museum agreed, telling DW that the pandemic demonstrated just how damaging a drop in business could be for the coffee shops.
"When they closed the coffee shops for [the] corona[virus pandemic], there were drug dealers on every street corner. So a few days later they reversed the move," he said.
While rules could change, Gallagher said, the culture would always remain. "Amsterdam will have this reputation forever," he said.
Possession of five grams or less was decriminalised in the Netherlands in 1976 under a "tolerance policy". Photo / Unsplash
Changing Amerstdam's culture was also something Lawyer and councillor Don Cedar told Dutch News would be crucial.
"We need to change the international image of Amsterdam as the drugs capital of the world," he said.
"If we do that I believe we will draw a different crowd and make sure the city becomes more liveable."
Cannabis is technically illegal in the Netherlands, however, possession of five grams or less was decriminalised in 1976 under a "tolerance policy".
