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  1. #1

    Weed: Why Amsterdam’s coffeeshops are closing

    It's not legal to sell weed at a coffee shop in Amsterdam but if you do, the police will look the other way. Lately the government has been tightening restrictions and a lot of shops have been closing down.

    You can't have a weed shop within 250meters of a school for example.





    http://www.economist.com/blogs/econo...t-explains-man

    ON DECEMBER 31st the world’s oldest coffeeshop, Mellow Yellow, in Amsterdam, was forced to roll down its bright yellow shutters one last time. Over the past half-century, many a foreigner has smoked their first spliff at this cosy cafe, which sat perfectly on the route between two tourist favourites, the Heineken Brewery and Rembrandt Square. Mellow Yellow is the latest in a string of Amsterdam coffeeshop*closures, a development that is worrying health workers, law enforcement officials and potheads equally because it may push drugs back onto the street. The number of coffeeshops*in the Dutch capital has fallen by half since 1995, from 350 to just 167. Why are so many Amsterdam coffeeshops*closing?
    To most outsiders, the Netherlands is synonymous with liberal, legalised vice, with Amsterdam the main port of call. Roughly one in four tourists to Amsterdam intends to visit a coffeeshop, according to the city’s tourism bureau (in 2016 Amsterdam received 17m tourists, up from 12m in 2012). Holland’s soft drug policy has always been one of “tolerating” rather than legalising. As Vincent explains in “Pulp Fiction”, “It’s legal to buy it, it’s legal to own it and if you’re the proprietor of a hash bar, it’s legal to sell it.” Central to making this construction work is a system of small, tightly regulated coffeeshops, where people can legally buy and smoke cannabis—and which the authorities can keep an eye on. Few officials in liberal Amsterdam want to get rid of coffeeshops*altogether; they are thought to help keep soft drugs out of the criminal circuit. But in more conservative parts of the country, including the political capital, The Hague, resistance to the policy of looking the other way has grown.
    Dutch governments have been clamping down on coffeeshops*by banning those in border cities from serving tourists, and forcing the closure of establishments near schools. A hairdressing school 230 meters down the road was the proximate cause for Mellow Yellow blazing out; a new rule states that they must be at least 250 meters apart. City officials openly question the effectiveness of this policy, but claim it placates The Hague and that it is the “lesser of two evils” (in that at least they can still serve tourists). Given the density with which Amsterdammers live on top of each other, nearly 20 coffeeshops*have had to close due to the proximity rule. Another 30 were stubbed out as part of an effort to clean up the seediest parts of the red light district a few years ago. Around 150 prostitute windows were closed as part of the same scheme. But the largest chunk of coffeeshops*went out of business either because they ran into trouble with law enforcement (there have been several shootings recently) or because they couldn’t hack it financially. A*“no growth” policy means coffeeshops*are petering because no licenses are being handed out for new ones to replace those that have closed.
    Amsterdam’s remaining coffeeshops*must therefore deal with the high demand. It is a mixed blessing. Some of the busiest ones have shifted from cosy cafes to take-away counters. This makes it much harder to keep an eye on users. Staff members often no longer have time to offer friendly advice, says Floor van Bakkum of Jellinek, an addiction help centre. A second worry is that street dealers might rush in to fill the gap left by coffeeshops. A report by the Bonger Instituut, a criminology think-tank named after a professor at the University of Amsterdam, is blunt: it blames both the growth in tourism and the closures of coffeeshops*in the city centre for the increase in street dealers. Other types of crime could also rise. Coffeeshops*are only allowed to hold 500 grams of the green stuff at any one time; some now need to re-stock several times a day to keep up with demand. This makes their couriers more vulnerable to robberies. It could also push proprietors to turn to criminals for their increased supply needs. Back in the old days they could count on a few friends with plants on their balconies. But as fewer coffeeshops*are expected to cater to ever larger groups of stoners, that approach could leave them out of joint.*
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

    -- Capt. Copeland

  2. #2
    The Forgettable Forgettable's Avatar
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    You can't put the word coffeeshop* with an asterix and then not put a footnote at the bottom of the article describing what you mean by that. I think the correct term you're looking for is "coffeeshop" (with quotations, as in it's not quite a coffeeshop, wink wink).

  3. #3
    When people mention Amsterdam what the average person thinks is whores and drugs, like a city a 20 year old metal head would design.

    If you're a city father (or mother) do you want that image?
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

    -- Capt. Copeland

  4. #4
    Legendary! MonsieuRoberts's Avatar
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  5. #5
    Is the cannabis cup banned?

  6. #6
    Deleted
    Could you please paragraph your wall of text

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Hubcap View Post
    When people mention Amsterdam what the average person thinks is whores and drugs, like a city a 20 year old metal head would design.

    If you're a city father (or mother) do you want that image?
    Why does it have to be a metal head? There is far more to the city than either od these two things.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unhinged View Post
    Why does it have to be a metal head? There is far more to the city than either od these two things.
    That's his point, Amsterdam's reputation is sex and drugs, a huge incentive for people travelling there

  9. #9
    The Undying Kalis's Avatar
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    Been to Amsterdam a few times, went in November once, never been so cold in my life. It's alright, London and Paris are far better though and you won't feel like you are going to freeze to death in Autumn.

  10. #10
    Void Lord Felya's Avatar
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    They have been doing so for about a decade. For some reason, they don't like being the drug capital of the world.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Hubcap View Post
    When people mention Amsterdam what the average person thinks is whores and drugs, like a city a 20 year old metal head would design.

    If you're a city father (or mother) do you want that image?
    If you are a city founder of Amsterdam, you'll be too terrified by metal demons roaming the streets, before you care about drugs. I don't believe pot or prostitution were illegal in 1275...
    Folly and fakery have always been with us... but it has never before been as dangerous as it is now, never in history have we been able to afford it less. - Isaac Asimov
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  11. #11
    The Patient
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    Part of the problem is also that while coffeeshops are allowed to sell weed, almost every reasonable way of growing and supplying coffeeshops with weed is still illegal. Its not reasonable to expect all your supply to come from households who grow a single plant on their balcony.

  12. #12
    Merely a Setback Sunseeker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hubcap View Post
    When people mention Amsterdam what the average person thinks is whores and drugs, like a city a 20 year old metal head would design.

    If you're a city father (or mother) do you want that image?
    It is? What does some guy from Reno know about what the average person thinks about Amsterdam? Whores and drugs certainly don't come to mind and I sure as hell don't picture the city designed by 20-year-old metalheads.

    Also, your article is bullshit clickbait. Coffeeshops aren't closing down. Weed shops that sell coffee are.

    Solution? Own two stores. One sells weed, one sells coffee.
    Human progress isn't measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on a life.

    Just, be kind.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by smrund View Post
    It is? What does some guy from Reno know about what the average person thinks about Amsterdam? Whores and drugs certainly don't come to mind and I sure as hell don't picture the city designed by 20-year-old metalheads.
    Well that is pretty much the first response you get from everyone here Germany when you talk about going to amsterdam. Not so much the metal thing, but certainly weed and whores.

  14. #14
    But I thought they made it illegal for non-Dutch citizens to buy weed from coffee shops some time ago?
    Quote Originally Posted by Vaerys
    Gaze upon the field in which I grow my fucks, and see that it is barren.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Faenskap View Post
    But I thought they made it illegal for non-Dutch citizens to buy weed from coffee shops some time ago?
    People certainly don't go to the netherlands to climb these awsome hills and mountains.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Haidaes View Post
    People certainly don't go to the netherlands to climb these awsome hills and mountains.
    Hey, they can still shop those wooden shoes and check out the tulips
    Quote Originally Posted by Vaerys
    Gaze upon the field in which I grow my fucks, and see that it is barren.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Faenskap View Post
    Hey, they can still shop those wooden shoes and check out the tulips
    Cheese. Don't leave out the cheese.

  18. #18
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Flarelaine View Post
    Cheese. Don't leave out the cheese.
    Oh yeah the cheese is great

  19. #19
    I am Murloc! Terahertz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smrund View Post
    It is? What does some guy from Reno know about what the average person thinks about Amsterdam? Whores and drugs certainly don't come to mind and I sure as hell don't picture the city designed by 20-year-old metalheads.

    Also, your article is bullshit clickbait. Coffeeshops aren't closing down. Weed shops that sell coffee are.

    Solution? Own two stores. One sells weed, one sells coffee.
    It's not necessarily clickbait. Here in the Netherlands weed shops ARE referenced as coffeeshops. Literally everyone I know calls them coffeeshops.

  20. #20
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Hubcap View Post
    When people mention Amsterdam what the average person thinks is whores and drugs, like a city a 20 year old metal head would design.

    If you're a city father (or mother) do you want that image?
    You've never been there, right?

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