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Plans to ban outdoor cannabis smoking in Amsterdam’s red-light district and limit sex shows and brothel opening hours were welcomed by city residents today but condemned by visitors.
New regulations due to come into force in May aim to save residents from the “glassy-eyed tourist zombies” that can dominate the center of the cultural heart of the Netherlands.
It is a crime to possess, trade or manufacture drugs in the Netherlands, but the Dutch government allows ‘coffee shops’ to sell cannabis under conditions that include not causing public nuisance.
The drug is sold in dozens of coffee shops across the country, with the most famous being in Amsterdam’s red-light district, where scantily clad sex workers offer their services from windows.
Residents have told MailOnline how sickening cannabis smoke can overwhelm bars and cafes and ‘stoned’ foreigners can cause accidents.
Cannabis users Miguel Correia and Mafalda Felicia light up a cigarette in the city center. The couple comes to Amsterdam on vacation because they can smoke in public
Waitress Daphne, 45, said: “People should be able to smoke cannabis, but not in every space in the city.”
Sisters Sam, Marie and Ijk Van Hattum said they were in favor of personal liberties, but the city’s sex and cannabis trade had gone too far.
Marie, 36, a psychotherapist, said: “Amsterdam is famous all over the world for marijuana and prostitutes. But this is not what our city is about.
‘In summer the whole city center reeks of weed.
“I think it is now necessary to limit use because the freedoms that allow people to smoke marijuana are being abused.
“We have a friend who broke her leg after one of these stoned zombies ran right past her on her bike and caused an accident.”
Ike, 32, an archaeologist, said: ‘There is a difference between the perception of Amsterdam and the reality of daily life.
“We need to limit its use as a precautionary measure. It will make our city safer.
Sam, 32, a teacher added: ‘I think these new rules are a good idea. We don’t smoke cannabis and never have.
Zohaib Khan, who works at a cannabis shop in the city, said he didn’t like it when people blow smoke in his face.
It is a crime to possess, traffic or manufacture drugs in the Netherlands, but the Dutch government allows ‘coffee shops’ to sell cannabis
Amsterdam’s famous red light district has long attracted tourists on the basis that they will be able to enjoy things that are off-limits elsewhere.
An English tourist smokes a cannabis joint on the streets of Amsterdam. The new rules will prohibit smoking the drug in public spaces in the city’s red zone from Thursday to Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Cafe waitress Daphne Pommerel recounted how tourists seem to believe they have the right to smoke everywhere.
Daphne, 45, said: “People should be able to smoke cannabis, but not in every space in the city.”
“Tourists seem to think they have the right to smoke everywhere.
They sit in the cafeteria and blow smoke over the customers who sit down for lunch. Not well.
And we don’t want drunk men wandering around looking for sex.
There have to be limits.
And even the workers at a cannabis shop are on board with the new rules.
Zohaib Khan, who works at the Cannabis Seed Bank, told MailOnline: ‘I don’t think people should be able to blow smoke in other people’s faces.
‘Sometimes I’m walking down the street and I can’t help but inhale their smoke. I don’t like
The signs warn tourists that it is illegal to buy drugs from street vendors. Cannabis can be sold in the famous coffee shops in Amsterdam
Sex shows will have to close at 2 a.m. and brothels will close at 3 a.m., instead of staying open until dawn, when new rules are introduced in April.
Sisters Sam, Marie and Ijk Van Hattum said they were in favor of personal freedoms but the current rules were too lax.
‘If they want to smoke, they should smoke somewhere that won’t disturb others.’
Starting in May, the new rules will prohibit smoking the drug in public spaces in the city’s red zone from Thursday to Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. And the total prohibition of smoking cannabis abroad is also being considered.
Starting in April, sex shows will have to close at 2 a.m. and brothels will close at 3 a.m., instead of staying open until dawn.
But tourists visiting the beautiful canal-lined city have condemned the crackdown.
A cafeteria worker, who gave his name only as Francesco, claimed that the city would collapse without cannabis.
He told MailOnline: ‘About 80 per cent of our business comes from foreign tourists. The same goes for all the cafeterias in the center.
“People come to the center of Amsterdam for the cannabis and then spend their money on other things too.”
Miguel Correia and Mafalda Felicia from Portugal said they had only come to Amsterdam to smoke cannabis.
Miguel, a 19-year-old student, told MailOnline: ‘In Portugal, young people smoke cannabis, but it has to be hidden, so it’s a secret.
‘Here in Amsterdam it’s not a big deal. You are free to smoke on the street. It is much more relaxed.
‘We have come to Amsterdam on vacation for this. I don’t know if we would come if we couldn’t smoke.
Tourists visiting the beautiful, canal-filled city condemned the crackdown, with one doorman describing the rule changes as “nonsense.”
Ron, 68, a painter, said: ‘I don’t like this at all. Cannabis brings a lot of money to Amsterdam through the back door’
Tourists stated that the main reason they visit the city is for the free access to cannabis
A cannabis smoker said he was baffled by the new rules.
Bob, 28, from Dublin, Ireland, told MailOnline: ‘I don’t know what to make of these new regulations at all. I moved to Amsterdam just a few months ago, I don’t know what’s going on.
Another smoker, Arad Aria, 26, from Iran, stated that free access to cannabis was the main reason tourists visit Amsterdam.
He said: ‘Most people come to Amsterdam to smoke cannabis. They spend their money in coffee shops and keep the country running.
A bouncer at a sex show described the crackdown as “nonsense.”
The muscular man with neck tattoos, named Nick, told MailOnline: “Drugs and sex are the only reason most people come to Amsterdam. These new rules are bulls***.
‘What are they trying to do with us?
They’ve already shut down half the working girls.
Amsterdam resident Ron Furby said he was appalled by the crackdown.
Ron, 68, a painter, told MailOnline: ‘I don’t like this at all. Cannabis brings a lot of money to Amsterdam through the back door.
“Tourists come to smoke weed and also to spend their money on other things.
I smoke occasionally at social events and parties. This is normal in Amsterdam.