Dagga sign is hot property
2006-02-06 20:29
Amsterdam - A "no smoking cannabis" sign put up in Amsterdam has proved so popular with souvenir hunters that authorities are now giving people the chance to buy it legally.
The sign in the De Baarsjes district has had to be replaced three times in a week, Rinze van Opstal of the district board said on Monday, but more than 350 would-be purchasers have already ordered replicas at &euros;90 apiece.
"It is an overwhelming success, we were expecting between 10 and 20 potential buyers," he said. The proceeds of the sale of the signs will go to charity.
More than 75% of the would-be buyers are from the United States, many of whom had seen it on the internet.
The local ordinance banning the smoking of joints around the Mercatorplein square in De Baarsjes came into effect on February 1 in a bid to stop trouble from local youths getting high and loitering.
The sign, marked "Blowverbod" and showing a joint emitting a stream of stars in a red ring, warns of a &euros;50 fine for offenders.
The by-law was the first to ban cannabis smoking in public in the Netherlands, where the practice is decriminalised, with special cafes known as coffeeshops licensed to sell the drug.
There are many similar local ordinances in Amsterdam banning public drinking of alcohol in certain areas.