Article by: Free Walking Tour Amsterdam Team
Amsterdam is the most liberal city in the world. Our liberal city is famous for its tolerance drug policy, but for how long?
Since 1976, there has been a policy of tolerance on soft drugs in the Netherlands (not only in Amsterdam). This was at the time “the War on Drugs’’, it did not give the Netherlands a great image. But with a tolerant soft drug policy and a hard policy against hard drugs. The drug problems of the ’70s ’80s were effectively combated.
Now almost 50 years later, Amsterdam is famous for Marijuana and has 160 coffee shops. But the municipality wants fewer drug tourists and therefore only makes coffee shops accessible to the Dutch. This is already happening in other cities such as Eindhoven and Maastricht. Since 2013, cities in the Netherlands have been allowed to decide for themselves whether they want to sell Marijuana to foreigners.
Amsterdam did not want this at the time because Marijuana would be sold on the street by Dutch people. The soft drug policy was created to prevent street trade, these sellers often sell more than just Hash or marijuana, unlike a coffee shop. The current mayor is not afraid of that, she wants to try it anyway.
It is not yet certain when these rules will actually come into effect, but it is clear to the mayor that it will happen. If you want to get marijuana, you will soon have to do so in cities other than Amsterdam. You can still have 5 grams of Marijuana in your pocket once you have bought it.
5 things about Marijuana in Amsterdam
If you want to know more about Marijuana and Drugs in the Netherlands, join one of our Dutch guides. With the classic Free walking tour of Amsterdam or even better the Alternative tour of Amsterdam.