Amsterdam, the Venice of the North

Amsterdam sometimes gets a bum wrap for being the sin city of the Europe. It is a very liberal and tolerant city where prostitution is legal and the smoking of cannabis is allowed (but not fully legal, see previous posts.) But, there is more to this city than exploring a few vices.

Amsterdam is known as the Venice of the north- a beautiful city of canals and bridges, where you walk or ride your bike anywhere and everywhere. The city is home to some of the world's greatest museums and art and is truly an international city where you can get almost any kind of cuisine from Turkish Pizza, Spanish Tapas, Argentinian Steak, German Wiener Schnitzel, Holland Split Pea Soup, chocolate and more chocolate. Did I mention Suz ate some chocolate?

Suz and I were very lucky to be in the Netherlands at a time when the national football team played in the World Cup Finals. As a sports anchor it was an eye opening experience to witness how passionate people and fans are passionate about soccer.

--Ryan

As a local news reporter, it's interesting to learn about how Amsterdam and the Netherlands handle the cannabis culture---especially in light of Proposition 19 being up for consideration by Californian voters this November. The ballot measure is about legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults. At a time when Sacramento is combatting a major budget deficit and may consider taxing marijuana dispensaries as much as 5%, it's interesting to see how Amsterdam coffeeshops are taxed 56% and to learn that coffeehouses all over the Netherlands collectively generate billions of Euros every year--46 million Euros in taxes for the country according to the Cannabis College in Amsterdam.

Taxing marijuana sales and legalizing marijuana are controversial issues in California that are sure to gain more media attention in the next couple of months.

-Suzanne