All of which is legal in Amsterdam, for now.

Amsterdam is known for many freedoms that are illegal elsewhere. However after visiting the town and taking a tour it seems like that a lot of these freedoms are slowly being taken away one by one. The red light district especially has had heavy rallying for it to be shutdown. As a result the Red Light district is being shutdown.



In the ways of the Dutch, no more is allowed and what's there already will only become more scarce. For example, two of the big sex theaters in the district will be shutdown for relations with the mafia. Also, no more red light windows will be added; they will only be taken away. The windows that are removed are changed into fashion windows showcasing fashion artists' works.



Magic mushrooms will soon be illegal as well. This movement came from two incidents where the user of magic mushrooms died, one of which was from jumping off a rooftop. The nations around the Netherlands have been pushing for stricter drug control.



Speaking of drugs there is much misconception about the legality of marijuana. It is actually illegal in the Netherlands, however it is no punishable. In the words of our guides many of the drugs are tolerated versus shunned upon. The term out of sight out of mind comes into play for much of the soft drugs of Amsterdam. The reason soft drugs are tolerated is that before Amsterdam has a heavy for junkies and now after banning hard drugs and tolerating soft drugs Amsterdam has dramatically lowered the number of addicts and also cleaned up the red light district.



I took a tour of Amsterdam and found out that much of its history is from the days when Amsterdam was a significant port town. The xxx symbol is found throughout the town and is believed to have stemmed from that fact that sailors used three x's to signify the port Amsterdam. The city literally means division of Amstel (the river), which is precisely how the town was founded. Amsterdam sits on top of a marsh and so all the buildings are slowly moving in every which direction. Long metal rods are inserted into the building to keep its structural integrity. They can be seen everywhere as a little rectangular studs on the sides of buildings. Each building also has a hook at the top which is used loop a rope around and attach a pulley. This is used for moving larger furniture. Canals run throughout the city and gates actually circulate fresh water into the canal system so the water is not stagnate and does not stink.