Netherlands’ Drug War

Business Insider has an interesting article on the Netherlands’ bloody drug war, in which rival gangs have been killing each other to settle scores. The murder rate in the country rose after a massive cocaine shipment went missing four years ago in Belgium. Now, Dutch policymakers are openly questioning the effectiveness of the world’s War on Drugs and are pondering alternative strategies to reduce violence and improve public safety.

Vice: ’80s Polaroids of Amsterdam

Vice has published interesting collection of Polaroid photos of the “drunks and weirdos” of the Amsterdam Red Light District in the 1980s.

Amsterdam Remains “Coffee Shop” Capital

Here is an interesting article from DutchAmsterdam, dated October 30, 2015, pointing out that despite the closures of 28 of Amsterdam’s cannabis “coffee shops” that are deemed too close to high schools, Amsterdam still has over 160 coffee shops and remains the “coffee shop capital of the world.”

Hundreds Protest in Red Light District

Vice News has an interesting piece about a newsworthy protest in April 2015 involving hundreds of prostitutes in the city against the city’s closure of prostitution windows. The prostitutes and their supporters argue that Project 1012, intended to reduce the number of windows and cannabis “coffee shops” in the district, has made it harder for the prostitutes to make a living.