Amsterdam has long been the cannabis capital of the world. Smoky haunts offer "da herb" in one-gram bags or individual spliffs to everyone from stoned hippies to retired first-timers in all manner of coffee shops -- sleek lounge bars, gay clubs, cosy cafes and New Age retreats.
Though tourism authorities may be wary to admit that Mary Jane attracts more tourist attention than Anne Frank, the relaxed attitude to cannabis is one of Amsterdam's biggest draws. The police have long turned a blind eye and the coffeeshop owners get on with "cannabusiness" relatively unchallenged.
But all this could shortly change. Last week, the International Narcotics Control Board reported that the conservative coalition government plans to crack down on the coffee shop industry. By 2010, the city's culture of coffee and cannabis could even be extinct.
But not only are Amsterdam's coffee shops part of the city's streetlife, they're also a mainstay of its tourism industry. Not all the tourists are coming for the Rijksmuseum, art galleries and the canals. Hash coffee shops have been attracting fans of the "wonderful" weed since 1972, when the first outlets took root in the city.
Holland's current legal stance is that use of the drug is not illegal, but possession is against the law, though anyone caught with less than 30g is not prosecuted. Those over 18 can buy up to five grams in a coffee shop.
"Coffee shops are just an ordinary part of the city scene, and that ordinariness in a way has its charm," said Rodney Bolt, author of the Cadogan guide to Amsterdam and the Randstad. He also believes they serve a useful purpose.
"Coffee shops go a long way to demystifying dope, keeping kids away from people who might try and sell them harder stuff, and allowing police to keep an eye on things."
Although they avoid active promotion of cannabis tourism, a spokeswoman for the Netherlands tourism authority admits that,"A small part of the tourism to Amsterdam is people coming for the coffee shops."
Bolt adds: "Brits, and Americans especially, who are out for a little naughtiness see a smoke as part of an Amsterdam package along with drinking and an ogle through the red-light district."
But now, the government wants local authorities to reduce the number of coffee shops, especially near schools and areas bordering other countries. It has also voiced its concerns over links between the coffeeshop industry and the illicit drug trade, drug-related crime and health and social problems.
The number of cannabis stores in Holland has already dropped from 1,500 to 750 over the past five years. Nol van Shaik, one of Holland's leading coffee shop owners, said: "I had a meeting with the police in Amsterdam this week, and while they do not want to make using cannabis impossible in Holland, in Amsterdam they want to decrease the number of coffee shops from 250 to 120, and will do everything they can to do so. If owners are caught breaking the rules, such as selling to under 18s, or advertising cannabis, they will close them down." Closing down the shops could take away some of Amsterdam's unique charm.
"Tourists might look to other liberal places such as Copenhagen for that kind of holiday. They could become the new Amsterdam," said a spokeswoman from STA Travel.
OFF BORDER ISLAND: The fisheries official disappeared from a patrol vessel wearing a life jacket and leaving behind his shoes, indicating an intentional move, Seoul said North Korean soldiers shot dead a suspected South Korean defector at sea and burned his body as a COVID-19 precaution after he was interrogated in the water over several hours, Seoul military officials said yesterday. It is the first killing of a South Korean citizen by North Korean forces for a decade, and comes with Pyongyang at high alert over the COVID-19 pandemic and inter-Korean relations at a standstill. The fisheries official disappeared from a patrol vessel near the western border island of Yeonpyeong on Monday, the official said. More than 24 hours later, North Korean forces located him in their waters and
ACADEMIC FREEDOM: One professor told her students to submit anonymized papers and not to record any online classes. Some US schools have announced similar steps Students at Oxford University specializing in the study of China are being asked to submit some papers anonymously to protect them from the possibility of retribution under the sweeping new security law introduced three months ago in Hong Kong. The anonymity ruling is to be applied in classes, and group tutorials are to be replaced by one-to-ones. Students are also to be warned that it will be viewed as a disciplinary offence if they tape classes or share them with outside groups. The Hong Kong National Security Law was imposed on June 30 by Beijing after more than a year of pro-democracy
Japan’s government yesterday urged people to seek help if they were struggling to cope, following Sunday’s death of the popular actress and Miss Sherlock star Yuko Takeuchi, 40. News of her death shocked the nation and follows other recent cases of Japanese celebrities taking their lives, with figures showing a recent rise in suicides. Takeuchi was a household name in Japan and had given birth to her second child in January. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato did not mention a particular case, but said that some people were struggling to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There has been an uptick in the number
The scarcity of commercial flights landing at Sydney Airport has been a disaster for airlines and workers, but for hobby pilots the COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity of a lifetime. The quieter-than-usual runways mean that private pilots have been given the chance to land at the international airport for the first time. When Sydney Flight College club captain Tim Lindley put out a call, he received an overwhelming response. He eventually organized for 14 light aircraft to fly into Sydney airport on Sunday. “For a lot of the pilots involved, including myself, it was a childhood dream to land in a big
RSS