Cleaning Up Amsterdam...

Filed in archive News on December 9, 2008

If you're planning a trip to Amsterdam in the near future for some partying and general debauchery, you should know that the Dutch government has decided to clean the city up. The Associated Press is among news sources reporting that the brothels, sex shops, and marijuana cafe's in the center of the city have become the target of government efforts to clean the place up.

Organized crime is the Dutch government's real target. Gambling parlours, peep shows, the "coffee shops" where you can get a blunt with your latte, massage parlors and even some souvenir shops will be closed soon.

The law is a national law, and not everyone involved in city government in Amsterdam is completely on board. The city's mayor said says he's looking for "loopholes" in the law. He also makes it clear that Amsterdam plans to stay a freewheeling, modern metaphor for either Sodom or Gomorrah (take your pick). But in the meantime, you may have to find a new spot in town to recreate. You should probably do that before you get too stoned...


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Hendrik De Bruyne