Smoking cannabis in the “Red Light District” of the city of Amsterdam will be prohibited from May, local authorities announced. The measure is part of a series of initiatives to reduce crime and risk behavior, but also to restrict alcohol consumption hours and bring forward the closing times of cafes, bars, restaurants and brothels.
On Fridays and Saturdays, establishments in the area must close at 02:00, with the exception of prostitution houses, which may operate until 03:00. New patrons are also prohibited from entering after 1:00 am to “better distribute the crowd.” At the same time, in the summer months, the terraces will have to close.
Faced with what it calls a “huge problem of antisocial behavior” and with urban crime on the rise, the city wants to start by reducing problems in the area that police call a “square mile of misery.”
Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands and the brothels in the center of Amsterdam, in the “Red Light District”, are a tourist attraction. Added to this reality is the Dutch legislation that authorizes the sale of cannabis in cafes that respect strict conditions, but whoever owns, sells or produces more than five grams of this product commits a crime.
Given all this, the residents are “very upset by mass tourism and the abuse of alcohol and drug consumption on the street,” read a statement from the local government, adding that “tourists also attract street vendors , which leads to criminality”. and insecurity”.
For now, the restriction on consumption comes into force in the “Red Light District”, but the authorities admit that, if it does not arrive, the measure can be extended to the terraces of the cafes.
Source: TSF
