studentsineurope

Smoke Out: Amsterdam’s Changing Ways

With the sweeping tobacco ban in 2008, it seemed that Amsterdam’s coffee shops would take enough of a hit, but with recent news of the nation’s crackdown on so-called drug tourism, the Dutch city may no longer be the destination it once was.

For years, it seemed a rite of passage to visit this canal-laden city, where the gedoogbeleid – Holland’s drug policy – permitted the use of reasonable amounts of marijuana. Smoked or consumed via candy and baked goods, the easily-accessible cannabis made the city light up (no pun intended) with experiences not quite available in surrounding European locales. Mix that with the red light district and you’ve got one crazy, blurry cocktail (again, no pun).

A weekend excursion to Amsterdam in 2007 – before either of the aforementioned regulations were set in place - was a bit of a revelation for my heavily-regulated American being. Having been raised in a country where drinking a glass of wine at 20 is a hush-hush activity, I found myself both surprised and relaxed at the sight of the city’s seemingly pleasant, unmonitored citizens. Both the place and its provisions made for a wonderful weekend – I rode bicycles, had picnics, visited the Stedelijk and The Van Gogh Museum, and wandered around the mazes of  charming canals. Amsterdam – probably due to its modest architecture and narrow streets – has a neighborhood feel; getting lost didn’t seem a possibility.

But when the sunlight went down (and the neons up), the city center  likened itself to a frat party.  Groups of drunken tourists (generally American or British) took to yelling, vomiting in the streets, going in and out of neon windows framing 20-something-year-old prostitutes. What during the day was a unique trait had suddenly become a seedy one. Moderation, the premise of gedoogbeleid, was hardly key, and if it was a turn off for a wide-eyed traveler like myself, I can only imagine how the locals must have felt watching this adult equivalent of children in a candy store – a smoky, slutty candy store.

It’s a shame, yes, that Amsterdam has changed its ways – new policies exclude the non-Dutch from purchasing their coffee-shop cannabis. Perhaps it’s not only the fault of rowdy tourists, but of the seemingly ever-increasing regulations on the Western world, forcing too many to cross boarders to access their vices (kind of like the way young North Americans take full advantage of Canada and Mexico’s more liberal drinking age). Even the red light district has seen an attempted clean-up since 2008, when the city started buying up some of the sleazier brothels. Despite my pleasant experience in the city, I can certainly understand the decision to ban public, non-citizen drug consumption.  And I more or less support it, too, for its attempt to avoid excessive intruders.

Still legal for citizens, if we want it bad enough we’ll find it. And if we don’t, at least will have a clearer picture of the beautiful, once-hazy Amsterdam.