AMSTERDAM OUTSMARTS SOUVENIR SEEKERS BY SELLING 'NO SMOKING CANNABIS' SIGNS

Amsterdam's "no smoking cannabis" signs have proved so popular with
souvenir hunters the authorities are selling replicas.

The sign in the De Baarsjes district has had to be replaced three
times in a week, said Rinze van Opstal, a local official, but more
than 350 would-be purchasers have already ordered replicas at 90 euros
($123) each. "It is an overwhelming success, we were expecting between
10 and 20 potential buyers," he said. The proceeds will go to charity.

The ordinance banning the smoking of joints around the Mercatorplein
square came into effect on Feb. 1 in a bid to stop trouble from youths
getting high and loitering. It was the first to ban cannabis smoking
in public in the Netherlands.