Amsterdam won't enforce coffee shop tourist ban, mayor says

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Unbreakable

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Amsterdam police will turn a blind eye to foreigners buying cannabis in its famous "coffee shops" when a national ban comes into force next year, the city's mayor said on Wednesday.

The mayor's comments put an end to months of uncertainty over a ban on foreign visitors purchasing cannabis at the shops that was introduced this year by a Dutch national government coalition which has since collapsed.

"It has been decided that Amsterdam law enforcement authorities will not attach any priority to enforcing the local residence requirement," Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan wrote in a letter to the current government.

The previous Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition government which introduced the ban complained that coffee shops attracted crime and unwelcome visitors.

But the legislation was greeted with dismay by officials in Amsterdam, whose more than 200 coffee shops are a major source of income.

Out of an estimated six to seven million annual tourists in Amsterdam "around one in three of them visit a coffee shop," Van der Laan wrote. "Our concern is that if we applied the residence requirement, they would buy cannabis products on the street."

Source:
http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itine...-coffee-shop-tourist-ban-mayor-says-1C7574786
 


I don't know if anything has changed since this video was taken. I was under the impression the weed pass idea was mainly seen as a bad idea and it was up to each city to determine their own form of legislation.
 
^ There are wonderful things about the Netherlands other than the weed!
The beer, chocolate, and bread come to mind immediately, not to mention the canals of Amsterdam and the thriving art scene...

But it seems to be true that the weed in CA is just as amazing as what is in Amsterdam, based on my personal research ;)
 
slimvictor said:
^ There are wonderful things about the Netherlands other than the weed!
The beer, chocolate, and bread come to mind immediately, not to mention the canals of Amsterdam and the thriving art scene...

But it seems to be true that the weed in CA is just as amazing as what is in Amsterdam, based on my personal research ;)
Click to expand...

Yea but this thread's about the weed. =D

I also make my own music and art, and am not interested in chocolate or bread and don't drink at all.

I'm sure other people would love to visit there though, no doubt.
 
I'm glad that the UN and the EU were not able to pressure Amsterdam into rolling over.

Fuck the power!
 
Captain.Heroin said:
Why would I want to travel all the way to the Netherlands? I have medical marijuana right here at home. %)

Good news for the European Bluelighters living in neighboring countries though.
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It's a beautiful city, and the atmosphere of all the coffee shops is amazing. I'd choose Amsterdam over Cali any day no matter what the weed is like in Cali.
 
I cant remember where I read it, but I remember an owner of one of those cannabis bars saying that he hasnt had a fight in his shop in 19 years. How alcohol bars would love to have a statistic like that. :)
 
bunnyhentman said:
The bread? I lived there for years and the worst part was the bread. Poffertjes on the other hand...
Click to expand...

Ah, but I am passionate about dark, sour, chewy bread.
I would guess that you prefer light, white bread? But it seems like they would have lots of that in the Netherlands, too.
Bread stores everywhere, each with many dozens of kinds of bread... hard to go wrong, for me at least.
 
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