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Fake drug dealers cause trouble

Amsterdam has had a reputation for drug dealers but now it’s fake drug dealers who are causing the problems.

Police in the city's Red Light District have arrested around 1,000 fake dealers in the past 18 months. They try to pass off chalk, washing powder or ground-up cough sweets as drugs and sell them for the full street value, mostly to foreign tourists.

"The numbers are frightening,” sighs local councillor Els Iping, who is worried they may only be the tip of the iceberg.

Tourists are reluctant to report such crimes for fear of attaching blame to themselves. The real problems start when the fake dealers don't take no for an answer and resort to threats and intimidation. Or in the worst cases, robbery and assault. "They prowl around like predators looking for vulnerable prey in the shape of someone who doesn't know the city."

Iping tells the tale of an unsuspecting British tourist who was offered fake drugs, intimidated, threatened, pushed out of sight of the security cameras and robbed at knifepoint - all within half an hour of arriving in the city.

Because fake dealers do not carry illegal substances, they can't be held under narcotics laws and are soon back out on the streets. "Bad news for the authorities, for the tourists and for the city. The last thing our capital needs is more bad press."
A report is due out next week and tougher measures are already in the pipeline.

Source

Another excellent example of the madness that our intolerance produces.



/Or, 'serves them right for wanting to take drugs. Time for another pint'.......

It seems like Amsterdam has a real problem with this, I just don't understand why either to be honest.

I know it goes on everywhere, yet in Amsterdam it seems so blatant.

Almost EVERY person I speak to who's come back from the Dam mentions how they felt unsafe alot of the time because of the countless dodgy fuckers loitering the streets!!

It's not good...

I know this is generally an unpopular theory, but hang with me while i explain something.

People want to smoke Marijuana, and The Netherlands has proven that allowing people who want to smoke Marijuana removes the crime and trouble associated with it. The only the areas where there is no governmental allowance (the main supply) that you get issues. America also proved with the alcohol prohibition that prohibition just plays into the hands of criminals, legalisation allows it to be controlled.

People also want to take other drugs like mushrooms, E and Coke. The only way to remove the trouble and criminal undergrounds would be to legalize them. This would make them controllable like alcohol, and everything is above board. The only way to eliminate criminal underworlds from getting involved in black markets is to not allow there to be any Black Market. This can only be achieved by total legalisation of everything. If nothing was illegal, then there would be nothing for criminal gangs to supply. If there is a demand, there will always be a supply. Why not just simply regulate the supply?

I def agree with what your saying.

There far too many stupid rules & far too many good people getting arrested just for doing their own thing.

I just wish our goverment would loosen up a bit

Yeah, make E, coke, crack, cyrstal meths and whatever the next designer head fuk is, legal...FFS c'mon....wise up!.

Anybody that scores their class A drugs from a stranger on the street in a foreign country, truly does deserve whatever they get.

Agree with DC.

Scoring drugs off the street in a strange city is never a good idea. Such stupidity is usually rewarded in the form of mugging.

I also agree, but I also wonder as Mr. Monkey Man, why this is so obvious in Amsterdam. We have drug dealers everywhere, but why do we have that "fake drug dealer" problem so obviously in Amsterdam? This would be really interesting to understand.

I learned before my first Amsterdam trip, that one should avoid the small and dark allies within the RLD. This is what I always did. But once one of these guys was following me. This was scary. I think the police could do more against these guys in the safest district of the city.

DC wrote:Anybody that scores their class A drugs from a stranger on the street in a foreign country, truly does deserve whatever they get.

When someone goes to a foreign country, isnt everyone there a stranger? They are to me. You could say the same thing about scoring some cannabis.
Personally, I dont think anyone deserves what they get if they get bad drugs, regardless if they are class A or class Z drugs. People are going to take their preferred poison, regardless of the laws and they should be able to score drugs that wont harm them, beyond the harm that may be caused by the unadulterated drug itself, which they should be informed about. Just my 2 euro cents. Peace.

Macco, I know you find dodgy characters in all major citys.

But you will only usually encounter this sort of thing if you wander into a dodgy suburb or estate etc.

Whilst in Amsterdam it largely seems to be in one of the main touristy areas & the dealers don't exactly do much to tone it down either.

I've only been to Amsterdam once when I was very young so I know it's a bit early for me to have a proper opinion on the subjcet untill I visit again this Dec.

But almost everyone I've spoken to who's been to the Dam (including freinds & family) have encountered this problem.

I don't really know why this is myself, but it's not good.

Yes this could be an explanation. I have never been in such a district in another place. In Amsterdam the red light district is not "hidden and dirty" as it is in other places. In Amsterdam it is something which is kind of normal or at least open to everybody. And maybe it is normal, that also some criminals come up in such an area.

But I have no problem, if some guys ask me "Ey, amigo Charlie man..." when I walk down the street. It starts to get dangerous if they insist, and you cannot ignore them anymore. So I wonder why the police who created the window allies safer as any other place in Amsterdam, are not able to protect also the area around.

Puffin13 wrote:

DC wrote:Anybody that scores their class A drugs from a stranger on the street in a foreign country, truly does deserve whatever they get.

When someone goes to a foreign country, isnt everyone there a stranger? They are to me. You could say the same thing about scoring some cannabis.
Personally, I dont think anyone deserves what they get if they get bad drugs, regardless if they are class A or class Z drugs. People are going to take their preferred poison, regardless of the laws and they should be able to score drugs that wont harm them, beyond the harm that may be caused by the unadulterated drug itself, which they should be informed about. Just my 2 euro cents. Peace.

Well, no...I often go to a foreign country and know people there, probably the reason I'm in that country is to see them. In which case, it'll be those people that source my class A drugs for me should I require any. If all else failed and I needed to rave my cotton socks off urgently, I'd go to a local bar and "get to know" what's my best option for scoring. I'll clarify my statement a little " Anybody that scores their drugs...on the street...from whoever it may be...in whatever country..unless it's a pre arranged meeting, deserves everything they get. Because they're too much of a jacked up twat to wait and find a better option."

Stupidity shouldn't be excused or catered for just because somebody wants to get wasted, when it is...some idiot always ends up dead.

.

Haha, I hope someone tries to rob me and my friend when we are going. My friend Roger is into that mixed marshall (?) arts thing.. And he's really good, haha. No, but seriously, the cops need to step up.

DC wrote:"Anybody that scores their drugs...on the street...from whoever it may be...in whatever country..unless it's a pre arranged meeting, deserves everything they get. Because they're too much of a jacked up twat to wait and find a better option."

Stupidity shouldn't be excused or catered for just because somebody wants to get wasted, when it is...some idiot always ends up dead.

Your compassion is overwhelming.

DC wrote:Stupidity shouldn't be excused or catered for just because somebody wants to get wasted

I'd agree with that.