Amsterdam's newly formed coalition government has dropped plans to ban international visitors from the city's coffeeshops and will instead charge Europe's highest tourist tax.
The decision reverses proposals floated over the past two years that would have limited coffeeshop access to Dutch residents. City officials had argued a ban would reduce the strain cannabis tourism puts on local neighborhoods and quality of life.
"The coalition chose a different path," a spokesperson for the Amsterdam city council said. Rather than shutting out foreigners, the city plans to collect more revenue from the millions of visitors who come specifically to buy legal cannabis.
The numbers
Exact rates have not been finalized, but the new levy will be the steepest tourist tax in Europe. It applies to hotel stays, which means it falls heavily on the estimated 3 million tourists who visit Amsterdam each year for its cannabis culture.
The city has around 170 licensed coffeeshops, down from nearly 300 two decades ago. The shops generate economic activity well beyond direct sales, feeding spending on hospitality, accommodation and tourism.
Policy experts read the tax approach as an admission that cannabis tourism, whatever its complications, is too valuable to give up. "They're acknowledging the reality that this industry isn't going away," said Martin Jelsma, coordinator of the Drugs & Democracy programme at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam.
Out of step with neighbors
The move sets Amsterdam apart from other Dutch cities. Border towns including Maastricht and Breda have kept strict residency requirements for coffeeshop access to curb cross-border cannabis tourism from Belgium and Germany.
Competition is also growing abroad. Colorado and California have established recreational markets, Canada has a nationwide legal framework, and Thailand recently became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis, though it has since walked back some reforms.
By betting on international cannabis tourism at a higher price point, Amsterdam's leaders are wagering that the city's cultural pull cannot be replicated elsewhere. The Dutch coffeeshop system has operated in a legal gray area since the 1970s and still draws visitors despite decades of availability and the model's built-in contradictions.
What's next
The coalition's decision leaves Amsterdam's deeper cannabis problems unresolved. Coffeeshops still operate under the "gedoogbeleid," or tolerance policy: they can sell cannabis but cannot legally source it, so supply still arrives through a back door that is technically illegal.
National experiments with regulated cultivation have moved slowly. A pilot program allowing ten municipalities to test legal supply chains has been delayed repeatedly, and full implementation is not expected until 2025 at the earliest.
For now, Amsterdam is sticking with its position as the world's premier cannabis tourism destination and trying to manage the crowds with economic barriers rather than legal ones. Whether higher taxes will actually thin out visitors or simply bring in more money is an open question.
The city council is expected to finalize tax rates and implementation timelines in the coming months.
This article is based on original reporting by hightimes.com.
