Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema is moving ahead with a tourist cannabis caffe ban.
This means authorities in the Netherlands may soon close Amsterdam’s cannabis cafes or coffee shops to tourists.
Halsema has unfolded a plan to make such a move and believes it is the only option in order to get a grip on the local soft drugs market, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Halsema said to city councilors that there is a worrying interdependence between the soft as well as the hard drug trade while stressing that money from the lucrative cannabis trade can easily lead to hard drugs.
“Many of the major problems in the city are fueled by the cannabis market: from nuisance caused by drug tourism to serious crime and violence. Banning sales to tourists is a necessary intervention… and the first step towards regulation,” she said, as reported by Dutch News.
66 of the total of 166 licensed coffeeshops in Amsterdam are needed in order to meet the local demand.
According to Haslema, imposing a ban would be the best measure in order to ensure the cannabis market continues to be manageable while experiments with the production of regulated marijuana get underway.
Previously, research conducted by the country’s government revealed that 58 per cent of international tourists who travelled to Amsterdam chose the Netherlands ’ capital in order to consume drugs, according to Halsema.
“Amsterdam is an international city, and we wish to attract tourists – but for its richness, its beauty and its cultural institutions,” the Mayor said. She added that the cannabis market was too big and had too many links to organised crime, as reported back then by the Guardian.
