Amsterdam's Red Light District: Lights Out for Street Weed, Tourists Unfazed, Coffee Shops Happy

Amsterdam's Red Light District will no longer allow marijuana smoking on its streets starting May 25. Any violation of the new law, which will be enforced by police as well as local officials, will be punishable by a €50 (or $54) fine.

Nevertheless, tourists seem to be undeterred by the new rule.

Coffeeshops, the designated venues for purchasing and consuming marijuana, are also not worried about a negative impact on their business either, per Het Parool.

While some tourists find the ban unnecessary, coffee shop owners say it will increase their revenue by keeping customers inside longer.

"We’ll just keep people inside (...) That is not such a problem. We now ask them not to smoke in front of the door because it bothers our neighbors,” said a seller at City Hall.

“We already give our customers, especially when they come from abroad, information about what they are buying and what they are allowed to do with it. Soon we will tell them that they are not allowed to smoke on the street,” added Joachim Helms, owner of Green House. “They’ll stay inside longer if they are not allowed to smoke on the street and order more.”

However, concerns arise regarding enforcement, as the existing challenges with enforcing alcohol bans may also affect the implementation of the new rule. "The enforcement of the alcohol ban is already not working. Then this won’t work either,” noted Helms, who also says the shortage of enforcers in the city remains an issue.

Despite this, the European medical marijuana market has enjoyed steady growth over the past year and is projected to reach over €550 million euros (nearly $597 million) in sales by the end of this year. According to Boris Jordan of Curaleaf Holdings Inc. CURLF, "Europe is the next and the European theater is the next big market for cannabis after the U.S.," he said at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in 2022.

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Photo: Courtesy Of Lara Puscas On Unsplash