Zero-tolerance on cannabis in Amsterdam?

I just came back from Amsterdam and it really is a world city... a truly amazing place!
Young Canadians tripping out on weed, well to do Europeans there to see the museums, and young Japanese/ Aussie/ British/ USA couples there to ride the canals, visit the supperclub, and check out a coffee shop.
All the Police have to do is stamp out unruly antics, and make sure the teenagers behave themselves and... problem solved.

Hey guys maybe they are tired of a lot tourists in their country just for a bunch of weed! There's more to A'dam like The Anne Frank Huis, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Rembrandthuis!

Im happy everyone is enjoying my clip!

Maybe Amsterdam residents are sick of seeing obnoxious frat boys walking in the red light district with joint-in-hand, catcalling at the prostitutes and wreaking havoc in their city. It's legal to smoke pot (not cigarettes) in designated coffee shops, but not on the street. Now, you probably wouldn't get arrested for that type of behavior, and that leniency is part of the problem. Each time I'e been there, I've noticed that so many North American kids show up in Amsterdam with no regard for their laws or culture, and then treat the city like a giant Animal House. It's a beautiful, amazing, culture-filled city, and maybe they're a little sick of that single-minded type of tourism?

WIth that being said, I don't want them to criminalize all the things that are legal there, I just really hope that they take more pains to enforce their bylaws, and maybe young people will start realizing that there's much more to Amsterdam than just legal weed.

Maybe Amsterday residents are realizing that their children are not mature enough to use pot responsibly. The abuse of this drug can put a childs development on hold and seriously interfere with their growth. I don't know what the answer is because I'm sick of government interference too but it's not as simple as making it available to adults.

damn, that'd be a blow.. I wonder if any greater social disturbances that can be attributed to cannabis since the laws were relaxed could be attributed to the fact that people from all over flock to Amsterdam - in other words, perhaps if more places relaxed their laws, the stress wouldn't be so much on one place.

if they get rid of the weed then all they will be left with is the sex crazed maniacs.

Never going to happen. Amsterdam is too rooted in it's place as "pot heaven" I mean who goes to Amsterdam to just go? Their attitude towards drugs probably brings them 85% of their tourism. If they want to stay on the map as a travel destination they'll keep Mary and her friends around.

America:
Barney Frank has a bill on the floor to legalize the use of marijuana. Just FYI. so write your congressman and tell him what you think. i think its about time i can walk into the store and buy some if i want to.

you know, i am so tired of this "no tolerance where weed is concerned." in America a weed dealer gets more prison time than that of a person who commits a murder. that's pretty ridiculous. when is the last time you heard of someone beating there wife or child or, crashing their car, or holding some one hostage, because they were high on weed. in my personal opinion, beer and alcohol are much worse for you and make you a lot crazier than weed. i mean, its a plant. like tobacco. give me a break. at least it wont give me kidney and liver failure. or burn holes in my brain. i mean there are a lot of drugs out there that should be illegal. weed isn't one of them.

i understand some of the regulation like not opening shops next to schoaols, but to ban it completely would be devastating to their tourism industry.

I'm a frustrated 27 year old that is sick and tired of being controlled by people that think they know whatz best for me. Its like we can have doctors and scientist tell us that weed is less harmful than alcohol and has healing and calming effects but since we let OLD out of touch politicians with OLD conservative views on what America should be, we have to live like this....I shouldn't have to go all the way to Amsterdam to smoke a joint when I can grow the plant here in my own country. What makes it so bad is that it use to be legel here and the production of the crop was benefical to our economy. We always do things ass backwards here. Alcohol is the number one killer of teenage kids in the U.S. but instead we focus on weed. Prescription meds are legal and easier to get and cause more serious addiction and side effects than Weed. I'm tired of this crap!!! Let me out of the cage!!

The more I think about it the more I believe that our country will always go back in forth on every liberty we have.

I am going to be in Amsterdam January 4-8th. It is part of an overall European trek my oldest son is taking me on. There are hundreds, if not thousands of reasons I want to go to the Netherlands. Cannabis is one reason, but hear me out. I can get cannabis here about anytime I want to. In Amsterdam it is part of the modern culture, and it is a curiosity to be able to sit down with an espresso, cannabis and a great book in a public place without thinking twice. I have always admired their enlightenment in regards to the prohibition of such substances. Indeed prohibition has not had a successful past.

If cannabis were my only reason for going, it would be the most expensive high a person could get. I hope it isn't banned before my trip, if it is it will be sad, but wont ruin my trip.

why would they do that?! Amsterdam is legal for just about everything, and they are a top country in no violence, doesnt that say something?!

It is annoying that people only associate Amsterdam with smoking weed, but if you really know the city then you'll know there's so much more to it than that.
If Amsterdam's attitudes to weed were changed, it would have really negative consequences in so many respects, particularly for Dutch residents and their safe, liberal way of living.

What is this world coming too? It's a fuckin plant!
Now where am I supposed to go on my honeymoon?

Why would you go other wise? it's boring! O o o wait the 'Red Light' district.

NO is their no hope any where

I love Amsterdam and it's a shame that people think the only thing to do there is smoke weed legally. It's a city that's incredibly rich in culture. I wouldn't mind seeing this change as well... and if it means fewer people making the trip just to get stoned, then that's great news for everybody else!

I think this will be a good thing. In my opinion drug and sex tourists kinda ruin whats a pretty lovely, vibrant city. There has been talk of making it illegal for visitors to buy weed for some time now, and Amsterdam still has lots of other things for tourists to see.

I went to Amsterdam and had the time of my life.
If this happens I think i will be canceling my return trip.

omg. hello.. NO!! ive not been there yet, and im saving up to go there! there is no point in going there if there is no Mary Jane!

. The Dutch are rational. Much of their Government is accomplished by means of permits/inspectors to avoid the huge bureaucracies draining public money like they do here in the States. If they pass and strictly enforce regulations which eliminate the source of complaints such as the noise/smell nuissance,they can count on their own coffeehouses policing themselves by refusing admittal to the unruly so as to avoid fines and stay in business. These coffeehouses are taxed, so it should be a local police priority to have the coffeehouses and their passport/permit patrons inform on the "runners" which subvert a legal coffee house into a source of supply for illegal activities not yet controled, and which feed Organized Crime elsewhere...No civilized citizens of any country capable of obtaining a permit would condone that. It seems that there's much concern for the class of people who frequent the coffeehouses.Rightfuly so,the bad apples give them an undeserved bad reputation.And none of us want to see a good thing ruined by a relatively few people who would be persona non grata anywhere.,Obvious indiscretions by a few who should never have a permit issued to them to consume should not make a just case for overreaction. The all or nothing approach can never reach a happy medium without enforced regulations to control human nature. Once tighter controls are instituted so that the continuance of these coffeehouses won't be given to any type of abuse infringeing on the rights of any Dutch citizen,then their 20 year legal social experiment in tolerance and more limited than unlimited use should continue without any problems. The Dutch are very sensible people. Look a the recent Court decision to make their med. cannabis grow law more progressive and you'll see what I mean.There are many ways for the Dutch to solve their social problems arising out of too little control by simply using more control. The areas around the coffee houses should be a priority for the city police. In Rotterdam, a major city, there are already restrictions of using near schools, as there should be. Cannabis isn't for everone. And they are right. It should be indoors allways, and never exposed to schoolchildren who need to learn their studies without the temptation to experiment which would hinder their futures. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is NOT a Dutch tradition.Appeals to reason and not irrational emotion are their style. If it were not,then they would not have gone 20 years with the current unrestricted liberalism. Liberal is a beautiful word. It comes from the Latin word defining education and Liberty.The Green Revolution needs the Netherlands to be the leader in the fabrication of consumer products made from hemp to show the World we can save ourselves. Of all people the Dutch know the evil consequences of 100 years of fossil fuel burning has precipitated that 40% of their country will be flooded by 2040.For a small country whose central imperative is to grow enough food for its own people to subsist on, this permanent flooding would be devastatingly harmful. If they truely need to outlaw unconditionaly with 0 tolerance something harmful, they should start with the internal combustion engine and only allow electric cars to be imported into their country like the BMW-5 electric subcompact.The Dutch are physicaly large people with moxy. If they took the lead and became the first of the World's Nations to outlaw the sale of oil/gas in their Country,and the cars that burn gas then all the other Nations of the World would know it can be done, and would follow their lead. If the Dutch and Americans resolved to outlaw fossil fueled vehicles 10 per year over 10 years,then we might yet stave off the flooding of that 40% of the U.K. of the Netherlands which will devastate that Country.

When i think of Amsterdam thats the one thing i think of WEED.

I DON'T THINK ANYONE CAN AFFORD TO TURN BUSINESS AWAY IN THIS ECONOMY

I wonder if they do decide to take a 'zero tolerance' policy on cannabis what the effects will be on the city's tourism. I'm guessing a lot of jobs would be lost in the renowned 'coffee shops...'