This comes from the The Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C.: Initiative 71 became law today, legalizing marijuana in Washington, D.C. under certain circumstances. Mayor Muriel Bowser said this week that the District will not become “like Amsterdam,” as though being “like Amsterdam” would be a bad thing. City Hall even refers to Amsterdam in their official Q&A. To give the…
The other day my wife and I visited a friend from way back who now works in a coffee shop. Actually a famous one, the Bulldog, which is soon to celebrate it’s 40th anniversary. Mostly I just love how a legal and regulated drug trade becomes, well, boring. There actually is a worker on duty who is registered by the…
So a few months ago in Amsterdam, a couple British tourists died from a drug overdose. The Brits are kind of like the canaries in a coal mine of tourists. Brits are usually the first to somehow kill themselves, if given the opportunity. (It has to do with alcohol.) Anyway, they did die. It turned out that some guy on…
I’m in Amsterdam. It’s been three years since I’ve been here, which is the longest I’ve ever been away since 1991, when I first visited (and then lived in) this fine city. Like New York or Chicago, Amsterdam has gentrified. A lot. The city is also less interesting. It’s called vertrutting: dulling. There’s a movement to “stop the verturtting of…
People are always tickled to see the police boat representing at the annual Amsterdam gay pride boat parade. What’s unusual about this photo isn’t that hundreds of thousands (including every straight family I know) turn out for the gay pride parade in Amsterdam, it’s that there’s a blue sky. No city is as beautiful as Amsterdam in the sun with…
In a stupid way, mind you. But what I love is that if the Dutch want to regulate drugs, they can! Our illegal drugs are unregulated. What’s ironic is that this isn’t actually about drugs. It’s much more about traffic and parking. Also, don’t count the kips (chickens) before they hatch. I’d be shocked if this comes into effect throughout…
“The problem is if they just start lying.” That’s how Erik Mouthaan (Holland’s RTL News) puts it. Or, put less eloquently, this is what I’d say to Rick Santorum, who recently lied about the Netherlands, which seems to be a popular pastime (see, for instance) among US prohibitionists and conservatives. Said Santorum: People wear differ bracelets if you are elderly.…
But his acquittal in Dutch court is an important victory for free speech in the Netherlands. As a side note, the Dutch legal system has some peculiarities from an American perspective, and not just the fact that somebody can be tried for what they say: The verdict had been expected as prosecutors themselves had called for his acquittal, arguing that…
Legalizing and regulated vice sure makes things easier and safer. Here’s the latest story, from the BBC, on such matters as prostitution in Amsterdam. The war on prostitution doesn’t affect society like the war on drugs does. But it’s just as crazy! Of course prostitution should be legal and regulated. Duh!
Boom Chicago over in Amsterdam (my brother’s theater) made a funny video about changes in Amsterdam and the drug scene. The guy in the video, Greg Shapiro, and I arrived in Amsterdam same year same time. He’s very funny. I poured his beers. The other videos are pretty good, too. Check out Tiger Woods’ Apology Outtakes.