Saturday, December 6, 2008
Amsterdam: The End of an Era
- AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- Amsterdam unveiled plans Saturday to close brothels, sex shops and marijuana cafes in its ancient city center as part of a major effort to drive organized crime out of the tourist haven.
Prostitution will be allowed only in two areas in the district, notably De Wallen ("The Walls"), a web of streets and alleys around the city's medieval retaining dam walls. The area has been a center of prostitution since before the city's golden shipping age in the 1600s. ..Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands in 2000, formalizing a long-standing tolerance policy. ... Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but prosecutors won't press charges for possession of small amounts. Coffee shops are able to sell it openly.
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