Traveling through Amsterdam? Take care of new law!

[Shadow]

In case you wonder if the Dutch are already starting to lose their mind, here is the latest regulation in Amsterdam.
From November 1 the owner of a cafe or bar runs the risk of his business being closed in case the police finds a drunk customer.

This is NOT a joke.
http://www.powned.tv/nieuws/raar/2013/10/cafe_met_dronken_gast_moet_slu.html

No English translation is available.

[Faux Pas]

No bueno.

I can't read Dutch. Can you give us the details?

[mendeleyev]

Wow, three drunks and you're out! to borrow a baseball phrase.

Much like the California law regarding felonies of three strikes and they throw away the key, from this reading it appears that this law gives real teeth to the 1963 Alcohol Licensing and Catering Act that frankly had parts which were rarely enforced. The key will be in determining what is the definition of obvious drunkenness.

Inspectors will now be tasked to patrol and enforce the statue, meaning that if a person is sitting in a bar and obviously drunk that is one strike to the bar and they're shuttered for the day/evening. At two strikes the bar is shuttered for a month and upon three strikes the bar is closed down, period.

Another key in this law that will impact tourists and bar owners alike is the phrase "other substances" apparently meaning that it applies more broadly than to just alcohol and if a customer is legally intoxicated, whether by alcohol or any other substance, the bar is culpable.

The Dutch cutoff sales of "soft" substances and other drugs to tourists last year, making those famous coffee shops off limits to tourists so it appears that this law is a further step in eliminated drug tourism.

When amending the law in 2012, Parliament was addressing the growing crime rate linked to the lax laws on drugs and alcohol in the Netherlands.

The fun starts 1 November.

Shadow, is has been 35 years since I worked for the English programme division of the Dutch World Broadcast Service and my Dutch is not only rusty, it is frankly falling off the hinges so I need to ask is this really a website of Public Broadcasting?

Fun facts:

- The legal drinking age in the Netherlands is 16 for "mild" alcoholic beverages.
- The legal age for strong alcoholic beverages is 18.
- In the case of a restaurant and bar, any bar serving hard liquor must be in a separate room from the restaurant. Pubs that serve primarily beer, etc, are exempt from this requirement.

[Shadow]

Mendeleyev you still got the reading correct.
As for this being a part of the public broad casting, yes and no.
The company has been created a few years ago off a shockblog that is owned by a large media company. It catches the 'right wing' followers mostly, though pretends to be neutral. It is entertaining at times, at other times more irritating.
Articles are known to be created in bad language, contain hidden and not so hidden advertising and in general created in order to obtain reactions and views. As such it is a money maker.

As for the law, it is indeed aimed at both alcohol and other intoxicating substances.  This because the cutoff has failed and has been retracted. It was started in the South of the Netherlands, and caused the street trade to blossom as never before with all problems related. There for it never reached Amsterdam and has silently been removed.

One of the key elements was in the comments. In times gone the bartender would determine if a client was too drunk to remain in the business, and action would be taken to remove the client. Current laws and times cause bartenders to be very cautious and let the police handle things if needed.

And of course many comments hint at the large amounts of citizens from foreign origin that are influencing local politics to ban alcohol.

[mendeleyev]

Very interesting, Shadow.

If a tourist wanted to go into one of the coffee shops and smoke weed, is that still allowed?

[Manny]

Very interesting, Shadow.

If a tourist wanted to go into one of the coffee shops and smoke weed, is that still allowed?

Do you want to Mendy? 

[mendeleyev]

The closest I've been to smoking "weed" is a few years back I helped cousin Gera burn some wild brush we'd cut near the river of the dacha. However, there was a story in one of the Moscow papers recently about elderly dacha owners being arrested for wild poppies growing on their rural property.

[mendeleyev]

Whenever possible I enjoy the chance to catch Edwin Evers on his morning show "Evers is On" on Radio 538. He features some of my favourite musicians like the beautiful Candy Dulfer...




It was Evers who introduced me to Kraak & Smaak, and not that I like every song they do, but with a name like that...




Also, there is the talented Netherlands Eurovision representative from 1998 and 2007, the lovely Edsilia Rombley:

[calmissile]

Nice post Mendy,

This sure beats the hell out of the rap crap we hear booming out of the adjacent cars at a stop light.
You would think that after hearing the words mutha***** a thousand times people would get tired of it, but guess not.

[mendeleyev]

Thank you. You and I know what good music is!

[ML]

However, there was a story in one of the Moscow papers recently about elderly dacha owners being arrested for wild poppies growing on their rural property.

Ochka tells story of 80 something woman who was arrested outside small town where her parents live, for growing the poppies.

After she was kept in police custody for a  few hours,  the mayor (or some such official) ordered them to release her and take her back home.

After they arrived back at her home, the policeman tried to get her to pay for his gas for the trips.  She refused.

[SANDRO43]

Ochka tells story of 80 something woman who was arrested outside small town where her parents live, for growing the poppies.

Is her parents' longevity is due to their home-grown poppies ? If so, an interesting case deserving deeper medical research .

[ML]

The woman wasn't her parent, only someone who lived in the area.
Her parents don't grow poppies, as I understand it.
However, Ochka and her mother do buy poppy  seeds, grind them up and put in one of the bread type desserts that they make.
Quite good tasting.
We have to search around several stores here to find the poppy seeds in quantity.
Small bottles are available in the spices section, but more are needed for these bread recipes.

[Boethius]

My Grandmother, God rest her soul, grew poppies for seeds, as well as a decorative type.  When people started trampling her flowers to pick both types, presumably on the basis they both produced drugs, she pulled them all from her garden.


The poppy seeds from home grown flowers are far more flavourful than poppy seeds from stores.  I soak store bought poppy seeds in milk, which does help a bit.

[mendeleyev]

The lades of our parish join with nuns from a nearby monastery to bake fruit, poppy seed and nut bread twice annually and some is given to charity while some is sold for monastery upkeep. I'm scheduled (thanks to Mrs M) to "help" with the project soon. I love those poppy seed bread rolls but the apricot is my favourite.

Now I'm wondering where the ladies get the seeds?!