Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
While most American pot smokers like their joints made purely of marijuana, the
Dutch (like most Europeans) are accustomed to mixing tobacco with marijuana. Back in
the 1970s, most locals smoked hash, which needs to be mixed with something else (like
tobacco) to light up. Pot was expensive, and it was simply wasteful to pass around a pure
marijuana joint. Mixing in tobacco allowed poor hippies to be generous without going
broke. Today, more Dutch prefer “herbal cannabis”—the marijuana bud common in the
US—but they still keep the familiar tobacco in their joints. And since the Dutch don't dry
and cure their marijuana, it's simply hard to smoke without tobacco.
The Netherlands' indoor-smoking ban pertains to tobacco smoke, not pot smoke. It
might seem strange to an American, but these days, if a coffeeshop is busted, it's prob-
ably for tobacco. Coffeeshops with a few outdoor seats have a huge advantage, as their
customers can light up tobacco-and-marijuana joints outside. Shops without an outdoor
option are in for an extra challenge, as many local smokers would rather get their weed to
go than smoke it without tobacco at their neighborhood coffeeshop.
Coffeeshop baristas are generally very patient in explaining the varieties available,
and try to warn Americans (who aren't used to the strength of the local stuff) to try a light-
er leaf. Tourists who haven't smoked pot since their college days are notorious for overin-
dulging in Amsterdam. Baristas nickname tourists about to pass out “Whitey”—the color
their faces turn just before they hit the floor. To keep this from happening, the key is to
eat or drink something sweet. Cola is a good fast fix, and coffeeshops keep sugar tablets
handy.
Legally, while each coffeeshop can sell as much as it likes, it's permitted to keep an
inventory of only 500 grams (about one pound) of pot in stock. The tax authorities don't
want to see more than that on the topics at the end of each accounting cycle, and being
caught with too much can cause a shop to lose its license. A popular shop—whose sup-
ply must be replenished five or six times a day—simply has to put up with the hassle
of constantly taking small deliveries. The reason? Authorities want shops to stay small
and not become export bases—which would bring more international pressure on the
Netherlands to crack down on its coffeeshop culture. (A few years ago, Amsterdam's
mayor—understanding that this regulation just has the city busy with small-time deliver-
ies—proposed doubling the allowable inventory level to a kilo. Just the thought of a big
city mayor grappling with a practical issue like street congestion caused by needlessly
small wholesale marijuana deliveries is striking.)
The Prohibition of Our Age
