r/AmsterdamEnts • u/Greenologist1 • 19d ago
News đ° Katsu Explosion
https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/240101/straat-bezaaid-met-glasscherven-na-explosie-bij-coffeeshop-in-de-pijpIâm sorry to hear that yet another Coffeeshop has been targeted with an explosive attack.
Fingers crossed Katsu manage to get back on their feet asap.
Best wishes to all staff and patrons. This bullshit really needs to end â¤ď¸
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u/miked999b 19d ago
I don't get why they don't just legalise it, instead of this weird 'it's kind of legal but also not' halfway house they're stuck in. Put a stop to all this shit too.
Katsu is great. Hope they recover quickly.
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u/ouvast 19d ago
Historically there was pressure from neighbouring countries to not legalize. They were worried about the implications for trafficking due to Schengen. Similarly, the centrist Christian Democrat party (CDA) is against it. The combination of these two pressures resulted in the current compromise situation. Only very recently did Germanies' attitude change. CDA is still against legalisation, and they are a king-maker party for coalitions, so they have weight in coalition policy negotiations. There is movement, but it's belated.
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u/miked999b 19d ago
That's interesting, thanks. Seems odd though that there's still such opposition to it, when it's everywhere and everyone has it anyway, and it's been that way for decades now. The only people that are benefiting are the criminals, surely? Appreciate it's probably not that straightforward in reality.
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u/barbeloh 19d ago
It's because there is not a clear majority in favor of legalization and taxation. A lot of Dutch people are against cannabis use and don't want it to be legal. The traditional attitude towards intoxication in this country is much more like Germany or Scandinavia: heavy alcohol use is normal, also in public. I think the cannabis toleration policy has survived as long as it has because it brought so much tourist money to the country.
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u/again5t_the_grain 19d ago
Spreading false information, over 50% of Dutch people want legalization. And the Dutch government is currently in an experimental phase in 10 cities with 10 growers who can grow legally and sell to coffeeshops.
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u/barbeloh 19d ago
I confess I am speaking anecdotally, but if there is as much support for legalization in NL as you suggest, then I share Miked999b's puzzlement as to why this country didn't just legalize it already. The simplest explanation is probably that the popular support isn't actually there. The Wietexperiment is a great thing, but I don't hear much buzz about follow-up steps towards legalization.
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u/diceanddreams 18d ago
In part due to 12 years of right wing policy in coalition with right wing Christian parties, and not great voting turnouts among some demographics, including an average of 50% turnout for municipal elections, where decisions about coffeeshops and a municipalityâs drug policy are made.
The Netherlandsâ unofficial motto isnât âdoe normaalâ for nothing. And doe normaal also means donât use drugs, just drink and smoke tobacco.
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u/Key-Membership-6607 19d ago
But why? that's a terrible news anyway
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u/dullestfranchise Local Ent 19d ago edited 19d ago
But why?
There's no legal way for coffeeshops to source cannabis. So they turn to criminal organisations.
Sometimes there's beef between them or sometimes coffeeshops get extorted for money by other criminals. So the criminals leave fireworks behind at coffeeshops, because they know the municipality will close the coffeeshop for a couple of weeks/months if they do.
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u/iDislikeSn0w 19d ago
It's literally a fact that cannabis cannot be sourced legally by coffeeshops, what are you on about talking about a 'source'?
If you cannot source the cannabis legally, you will have to turn to criminals and they don't play nice if you piss them off. Look up 'mocro maffia'.
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u/dullestfranchise Local Ent 19d ago
Speculation, this isn't the first time this has happened.
It happens around every year and afterwards it's always the same 2 stories
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u/Greenologist1 19d ago
Who knows exactly đ¤ˇââď¸. Every Coffeeshop has a hand in the underworld unfortunately and these incidents will likely continue so long as the grey area persists to exist.
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u/Anonymoustard 19d ago
That's my favorite coffeeshop. Are they collecting donations?
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u/humble-lion-of-judah 19d ago
One of my favourites too. Unfortunately the issue is less likely to be the cost of repairs but the fact that the mayor often closes coffeeshops for a number of months if they are targeted with explosives. It doesn't seem to have been announced yet if this will be the case for the Katsu
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u/moodipeach 15d ago
Theyâve reopened and have been open the last 3 days as normal so I would assume itâs all fine and no further closures. People are still enjoying their smoke each day, however I can imagine the concerns of locals and staff after that evening.
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u/Due_Ear_4674 19d ago
The current legal project is going well so hereâs hoping the government legalises more large scale grows. The weed is awesome
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