This is an English translation. The original Dutch article is authoritative.
The VVD in Amsterdam wants to reduce the number of coffeeshops and deny access to foreigners in the fight against tourism nuisance. (VOC) Columnist Mario Zwart is agitated.
Yes, I too am annoyed by the overcrowded centre of Amsterdam. Bachelor parties with fake penises, drunk Brits, pushy Chinese tourists, loud Italians consuming cannabis, swaying Spaniards on rental bikes: it drives you crazy indeed. But closing coffeeshops is not the right answer.
Tourism nuisance is not caused by coffeeshops
Tourism is increasing sharply worldwide, and nuisance is also rising. Cities like Venice, Prague, Berlin, and Paris are buckling under mass tourism; local residents demonstrate there against tourists and against AirBnB. Note that these are all cities and countries without coffeeshops.
Amsterdam has also seen an explosive rise in tourism. And this is despite the fact—which is less well known—that the number of Amsterdam coffeeshops has actually decreased sharply since the mid-1990s. All in all, the theory that "it is so busy in Amsterdam because of the coffeeshops" is not supported by the facts.
What, then, are the causes of mass tourism? We know perfectly well: increased prosperity, cheap flight tickets, a wide range of hotels, and, not to forget, AirBnB.
Obvious measures would therefore be: fewer hotel and AirBnB rooms and more expensive air travel. Now, it is a happy coincidence that the municipality of Amsterdam owns 20% of the shares in Schiphol. The Dutch state owns 70% of the shares, so Amsterdam only needs to find one ally to increase airport fees. But Schiphol and aviation are almost sacred within the VVD. Is that the reason Daan Wijnants and Claire Martens opted for their easy attack on the coffeeshops?
Can the Mellow Yellow reopen then, VVD?
The wietpas, "the coffeeshop for Dutch people only", was devised in 2012 by then Minister of Justice Ivo Opstelten (VVD), based on manipulated research by the WODC. Mayor Van der Laan, correctly, saw no merit in it. But as a 'compromise', he did want to close coffeeshops within 250 metres of schools. One of the victims was Amsterdam's oldest coffeeshop, the Mellow Yellow. It had the misfortune that the Kappersvakschool (hairdressing school) had located nearby.
If that wietpas is now implemented after all, as the Amsterdam VVD wants, then the closure of the Mellow Yellow (and many other coffeeshops) was superfluous. Substantial compensation for the affected entrepreneurs would then seem appropriate. In any case, it has nothing to do with good governance.
It is discriminatory
Imagine the Anne Frank House or the Rijksmuseum announcing: "Chinese people not welcome". That the Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans refuse people with 'the wrong passport'. That we, to combat traffic jams, take cars with foreign number plates off the road. The country would be in turmoil. But when it comes to cannabis, nothing seems too crazy.
It is not liberal
The VVD's national election manifesto states: "Our history is one of curiosity, of trade and of guts….. The country of dealing with differences in a relaxed way. Of freedom that we did not only receive from the rulers, but precisely from each other…. That is the Netherlands we cherish." The local VVD's manifesto breathes the same atmosphere of "daring and guts".
In that liberalism, there is no place for "fat or sugar taxes, or patronising labelling to influence behaviour". Alcohol is a matter of "individual responsibility", with the VVD advocating for more alcohol sales points in the Netherlands for years. Because the VVD thinks 68,000 sales points for alcohol is too few, but 560 coffeeshops in the Netherlands is too many.
Because with cannabis, the vocabulary suddenly becomes: hindrance, nuisance, closure, illegal, and tough enforcement. An adult citizen enjoying a substance that is significantly less harmful than alcohol[1]? In the eyes of the VVD, they are a nuisance, a potential troublemaker.
And this despite the fact that a large majority of the VVD rank-and-file is in favour of legalising cannabis! How disappointing that even the liberals in the 'enlightened' city of Amsterdam grant no space to the citizen to arrange their own life.
How to do it instead?
Make flying more expensive. The municipality of Amsterdam owns 20% of Schiphol. Use that power! Reduce the number of hotel and AirBnB rooms in the Amsterdam region; increase the tourist tax; punish misconduct on the street, such as dumping rubbish, vandalism, and public urination.
Open more coffeeshops and spread them better across the city. More and more people live in Amsterdam, while the number of coffeeshops only decreases.
Even without tourists, you then get queues of customers on the street; it is not rocket science. Give the adult citizen, Dutch or tourist, the space to choose a less harmful stimulant. And finally legalise cannabis. It is high, high time. What arguments are there against a normal, legal industry? Why would a liberal be against freedom for citizens and entrepreneurs? Yes, criminal law, the Opium Act, the UN, difficult, difficult. I know. But politics is not for fearful people.
The VVD rank-and-file understands it perfectly; I hope that the VVD politicians also return to their liberal values. Daring and guts! Let us give each other space in this beautiful free country.
Source: voc-nederland.org
July 2020
_[1] In the Netherlands, 5,300 people die annually from alcohol (WHO Europe figures). From cannabis, zero. Globally, this is 3.3 million alcohol deaths, versus zero cannabis deaths (WHO figures). Alcohol is a recognised carcinogen, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases of cancer annually in the Netherlands. Cannabis is used as medicine by cancer patients because it alleviates symptoms and in some cases inhibits cancer. Alcohol is legal, cannabis is prohibited._