No More Weed In Amsterdam's Red Light District? 'Go Wild' Tourists Are To Blame

Smoking pot in Amsterdam's world-famous red light district will no longer be allowed. At least, legally.

Under the new rules unveiled by the city lawmakers on Thursday, it will be illegal to smoke marijuana on the street in the red light district starting mid-May.

Sex workers would have to close their venues at 3 a.m., according to BBC.

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Furthermore, restaurants and bars will also have to close by 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and no new visitors could enter the district past 1 a.m.

The new regulations come on the heels of Amsterdam deputy mayor Sofyan Mbarki announcing a set of policy proposals to tackle what he called the “tourist nuisance,” which seeks to keep visitors from swarming to the city for hedonistic vacations.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema set this train in motion with a proposed tourism cannabis cafe ban in April.

Mbarki announced a “discouragement campaign,” which focuses on “actively discouraging international visitors with plans to 'go wild' in Amsterdam.” The initiative is a result of many residents’ complaints, who argued that drug and alcohol abuse is resulting in higher crime rates in the country. 

At the moment, liquor sales in the old district are illegal from Thursday to Sunday after 4 p.m., and now the council is asking vendors to remove any alcohol from their shop windows at those hours.

Photo: Courtesy of Gio on Unsplash