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Amsterdam is groaning under the consequences of "overtourism," as the city remains a destination for boisterous bachelor parties, pub crawls, and drug excesses. Residents have long had enough and want to make their neighborhoods more livable and safer again.
Most recently, the city set a tourist cap of 20 million per year. It also wants to close window prostitution earlier and better regulate organized binge drinking.
Now the city council has adopted stricter rules on cannabis consumption. According to these, sales in the well-known coffee shops will still be possible, but from mid-May, smoking joints in the open streets within the old town will be prohibited. It already applies to alcohol consumption. Violators will face a heavy fine. Furthermore, there are discussions about possibly restricting sales in coffee shops between 4:00 pm and 1:00 am.
In addition, pubs in the red-light district will no longer be allowed to admit new guests after 1:00 am, and prostitutes will have to close their famous windows as early as 3:00 am (instead of 6:00 am as before). Furthermore, the sale of alcohol outside bars in the district is already possible on weekends until 4:00 pm.