Dominic Smithers
Cannabis is set to be banned in Amsterdam's red light district.
A new law is set to be passed that means smoking weed in public there will no longer be allowed during certain times.
The piece of legislation will most likely come into force from mid-May, as part of a series of policies aimed at improving safety and reducing nuisance for residents.
Rules around the sale of alcohol and closing times for bars and brothels are also being introduced.
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Currently, shops in Amsterdam's red light district are already banned from selling alcohol between Thursday and Sunday after 4pm.
They will now be asked to remove all alcohol from their shelves during this period.
Under the new laws, people will also be forbidden from smoking cannabis in public spaces between 4pm and 1am, Thursday to Sunday.
Restaurants and bars will have to be closed by 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, while brothels, which currently shut at 6am, will now have to be closed by 3am.
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And after 1am, nobody will be allowed to enter premises that sell alcohol in the red light district.
It's hoped that the move will give locals more 'peace late at night'.
In a press release announcing the new measures, a spokesperson for the city said: "The atmosphere becomes dire, particularly at night.
"A lot of people are under the influence [of drugs and alcohol] and hang around for a long time.
"This comes at the expense of a good night’s sleep for residents and the liveability and safety of the whole neighbourhood."
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If the tough measures don't work, the city says, it will look to ban smoking weed outside coffee shops as well.
Diederik Boomsma is the leader of the local Christian Democrats.
He has been a longstanding supporter of tougher measures to curb drug and alcohol use in the city.
Speaking to Dutch News, he said: "Finally! We have been proposing to ban smoking cannabis in public spaces for years.
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"Some days you can’t even walk around the centre without breathing in the persistent stench of cannabis fumes, with glassy-eyed tourist zombies staggering about. That has to stop.
"Amsterdam needs to finally get rid of its image as a Walhalla for paid sex and drugs. [Our] message to tourists: 'Welcome! But if you’re coming just to snort, swallow or smoke drugs: don’t'."
The proposed changes will now go into a four-week consultation period, which will be followed by a vote, with all parties supportive of the measures.