Amsterdam precedes tourists on big screens for street dealers
A warning campaign against street dealers will be launched in Amsterdam. This campaign is aimed at tourists and day trippers. The Red Light District will include LCD screens with warnings. It is one of the measures to reduce the number of street dealers in the city.
According to Mayor Halsema, the coffee shops especially in the city center attract many tourists who come to Amsterdam especially for this. The soft drug tourists regularly cause nuisance, says the mayor. Street dealers mainly target these visitors.
Mayor Halsema writes in a letter to the city council that it is okay. According to the mayor, thousands of people are more or less active as street dealers. A fairly large part manages to stay out of sight of the police, reports NH News†
Street dealers were
In addition to the campaign, business associations will set up a serving network, camera surveillance will be expanded and can be deployed later in the night, writes AT 5 O’CLOCK† Hosts welcome visitors, answer their questions, but also address the visitors if they cause a nuisance.
Furthermore, it is envisaged that entrepreneurs may be street dealers from the hospitality industry, closely with the help of hosts or the police. According to Halsema, some of the street dealers give the money they earn directly to the catering industry.
No soft drug sales to tourists?
Halsema sticks to the plan not to sell soft drugs to tourists through coffee shops. Halsema writes that she, the Amsterdam police and the Public Prosecution Service are convinced that this “is the best temporary intervention to reduce the size of the cannabis market and make it feasible.” The number of tourists coming to Amsterdam would decrease.
“Many of the major problems in the city are fueled by the cannabis market. A ban on sales to tourists: as far as the triangle is concerned, a received intervention to cool down the cannabis market in a first step towards regulation,” says Halsema.
The coffee shop industry is vehemently against that plan, saying the street deal will increase. The plan is also met with resistance from some of the council. Halsema says he is aware of this and therefore wants to plan the plan with the city council.