I used to live in Amsterdam and was somewhat deep in the nightlife scene. This ban was inevitable. To place the ban in a larger context: for the past several years, Amsterdam has been reworking...
I used to live in Amsterdam and was somewhat deep in the nightlife scene. This ban was inevitable.
To place the ban in a larger context: for the past several years, Amsterdam has been reworking its tourist image:
from a European Las Vegas where anything goes, that draws people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, especially a lot of chavs and chavettes who are drawn to the promise of drugs, prostitution, and parties.
Amsterdam's extremely strong tourist 'brand' draws too many tourists to the point where it's negatively impacting QOL for residents: lots of litter, public urination, and noise.
Locals don't hang out in the city center much. They know it's a dead zone filled with businesses that cater to tourists: weed coffee shops, waffle and drunk food restaurants, and tourist bars. Locals complain that the center has become Disneyfied. Real Amsterdam life happens in the ring surrounding the historic center.
to a city that draws the kind of visitors are interested its museums, concert halls, and other cultural venues.
There have been proposals floated to relocate the red light district outside the city.
There also have been proposals to impose a tourist tariff via hotels in order to make a visit to Amsterdam less attractive to young party tourists who are very price-sensitive.
It's the draw, right? It's the thing that brings tourists specifically to that place. If you ban cannabis in that area, all the businesses that want to sell a cannabis experience will move to...
It's the draw, right? It's the thing that brings tourists specifically to that place. If you ban cannabis in that area, all the businesses that want to sell a cannabis experience will move to somewhere that it's still easy to run that sort of business. The city government doesn't have to do more specific restrictions, they just say "If you want to sell cannabis, do it over there instead of here," and the relevant businesses will flow across that regulation gradient to a more productive environment.
I used to live in Amsterdam and was somewhat deep in the nightlife scene. This ban was inevitable.
To place the ban in a larger context: for the past several years, Amsterdam has been reworking its tourist image:
I understand the need to change the neighborhood, but I'm curious as to why cannabis specifically is considered an issue.
It's the draw, right? It's the thing that brings tourists specifically to that place. If you ban cannabis in that area, all the businesses that want to sell a cannabis experience will move to somewhere that it's still easy to run that sort of business. The city government doesn't have to do more specific restrictions, they just say "If you want to sell cannabis, do it over there instead of here," and the relevant businesses will flow across that regulation gradient to a more productive environment.
That makes sense. I was thinking about the effects of cannabis use itself, which is generally harmless. Stupid tourists, however, are not harmless.