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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Amsterdam to Halve Brothels, Marijuana Shops

City to become all around less fun

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(Newser) – Apparently being the world’s sex and drugs capital isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Amsterdam is hoping to shut down about half of its brothels and half its marijuana shops, the Daily Telegraph reports. Already this year, 109 of the city’s 482 sex “windows” have been shuttered. “Money laundering, extortion and human trafficking are things you do not see on the surface,” explained the deputy mayor, “but they are hurting people.”

Holland has been drifting away from its famously permissive culture. The country recently banned psychedelic mushroom sales, and two border towns want to close their drug shops altogether. By closing the brothels, the deputy mayor says Amsterdam will attract different kinds of tourists. “We can still have sex and drugs,” he said, “but in a way that shows the city is in control.”

A man, right, and a sex worker waiting for customers, far left, in Amsterdam's Red Light district in 2007.
A man, right, and a sex worker waiting for customers, far left, in Amsterdam's Red Light district in 2007.   (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A street in the red light district in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Dec. 17, 2007.
A street in the red light district in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Dec. 17, 2007.   (AP Photo/ Evert Elzinga)
Buildings housing window prostitutes are seen in Amsterdam's Red Light district, Netherlands, in this July 2007 file photo.
Buildings housing window prostitutes are seen in Amsterdam's Red Light district, Netherlands, in this July 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo)
Girls stand in red-lit windows in Amsterdam's Red Light district Sunday Sept. 28, 1997.
Girls stand in red-lit windows in Amsterdam's Red Light district Sunday Sept. 28, 1997.   (AP Photo)
Advertisements for a sex shop are seen in Amsterdam's Red Light district, Netherlands, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.
Advertisements for a sex shop are seen in Amsterdam's Red Light district, Netherlands, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.   (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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2 comments
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Greatbear100
Dec 6, 08 2:44 PM CST
I don't know much about it but from what I have seen on documentaries it has become to out of control with people shootin gup just about everywhere and at any time. There needs to be free zones where they can do their thing and closed areas where they who do not so drugs do not have to have it pushed in thier faces. IMO same thing with sex there needs to be open zones and closed areas where you are discret about what you do. This way everyone is free to pusue what makes them happy without offending each other. Reply
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ccm58
Dec 6, 08 3:46 PM CST
You can NOT shoot up anything and anywhere. That is just a myth.The Dutch actually have it well under control by selling weed in controlled areas. This way there is a quality control, so you don't get the risk of buying "junk" off the streets. The brothels are also in certain streets and not spread around the city. It is almost more a tourist thing than anything else.. Crime has been low in comparison with other cities, but I guess they can only do so much...
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