Amsterdam coffee shops have been popular with tourists for decades.

DLNews Staff:

For years, Amsterdam has been battling its image as Europe's stoner and party metropolis. Now comes the next blow!

Starting today, Thursday, May 25, 2023, smoking will be banned in the historic heart of the Dutch capital. A joint cannot be lit on the streets, squares, and canals around the red-light district, popular with party tourists. However, smoking weed is still allowed in the rest of the city. Anyone who violates the ban must pay a fine of 100 euros.

"No smoking": In the historic center, warning signs announce the ban on smoking.

The reason for the decision: Amsterdam has almost 800,000 inhabitants yearly and more than 20 million tourists. Most of them head to the coffee shops and bars in the red-light district. "The atmosphere can get very grim, especially at night," says a city official.

Residents are often “not amused” by the drunks who roam the streets bawling and pressing their noses against the prostitutes’ shop windows. Especially British bachelor parties are notorious. The city administration has even started a marketing campaign with the slogan "Stay Away" to keep them away.

People stroll along a canal through the red-light district of De Wallen in the evening.

The sale of alcohol outside of restaurants is already prohibited on weekends from 4 p.m. You are also not allowed to drink alcohol on the street. Pubs and bars have to close earlier in the red-light district. This also applies to the sex trade. Amsterdam even plans to close the world's famous red-lit windows and house prostitution in an "erotic center" outside the center.

Neighborhood residents are happy about the ban.

"At last, something is happening, and our concerns are being taken seriously," says a spokeswoman for the "Stop the Madness" citizens' initiative. But many Amsterdammers wonder if the ban will do much. "Who is supposed to control that?" asks the Association of Coffee Shop Entrepreneurs. "Even the alcohol ban is not enforced." The city admits there needs to be more inspectors but hopes Amsterdam's image will change.

An era ends with the smoking ban. For a good 50 years, joints were the hallmark of liberal Amsterdam. However, since the early 1970s, smoking and selling hash and marijuana have been officially tolerated.