To combat nuisance caused by drug use, the municipality of Amsterdam will ban smoking on the streets of the Red Light District after mid-May. While that weed smell may also be part of the neighborhood. Are the Wallen still the Wallen without weed?
The nuisance would mainly occur at night and be caused by tourists. Residents are structurally and excessively bothered by the grim atmosphere. According to them, the neighborhood is becoming unsafe and unlivable.
Other proposals to combat nuisance include closing the catering industry and prostitution earlier in the weekend and shielding or removing alcoholic beverages at times of the sales ban. The municipality will also investigate whether a collection ban for soft drugs is legally feasible and enforceable. That pick-up ban should then apply from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., from Thursday to Sunday.
If the smoking ban on the street is not sufficient, it will also be examined whether smoking on terraces at coffee shops in the area can be banned. Residents and entrepreneurs can respond to some of these measures for four weeks. Read more about the new measures here.
But for many, weed and the Red Light District are linked. Are the Wallen still the Wallen without weed? Isn’t such an intervention exaggerated, and isn’t soft drugs just part of it? Let us know what you think about it!