Police in Amsterdam, where “soft” drugs can be purchased legally in more than 200 “coffee shops”, have urged the city authorities to do more to prevent young foreign tourists jumping from hotel windows and being seriously injured or killed.
It is the first time the police have raised the issue with City Hall, and it follows a spate of incidents this summer in which tourists under the influence of various types of drugs have been jumping from windows and balconies at the rate of more than one a month.
The most recent incident was less than a fortnight ago when a Swiss man (22) was seriously hurt when he leapt from the window of his room at a hotel on Kloveniersburgwal. He has since been flown home to Switzerland for treatment.
In July, a tourist, who according to his friends was under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, died in a fall from his hotel on Marnixstraat in the Jordaan area. In May and June two more visitors died in similar circumstances.
In several cases, passersby have been injured by the “jumpers” – sometimes seriously. In the most high-profile case, an Australian who jumped from a high window on busy Kerkstraat landed on a passing Brazilian student who was left paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair for life.
The Australian subsequently recovered, but was sentenced to three months in jail and ordered to pay €120,000 in compensation to his victim.
“The drugs sold in coffee shops in Amsterdam are relatively mild by some standards, but people who are not used to them and don’t know when to stop can get into real trouble,” said a police spokeswoman. “And even mild drugs can cause psychotic episodes in some cases.”
Modern hotels in central Amsterdam tend to have windows that are sealed or that only partially open. However, older buildings housing budget-price hostels tend to be less well protected, and these may now come under scrutiny.
The government brought in a new restriction in 2011 under which cannabis sold in legal coffee shops cannot contain more than 15 per cent of its active ingredient, THC. But even at 15 per cent THC, Dutch cannabis is considerably stronger than its overseas equivalent, so visitors who binge can get into serious difficulties.
