Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The wholesale dimension of the marijuana business is the famous “gray area” in the
law. Rather than deal with that complex issue, Dutch lawmakers just left wholesaling out
of the equation, taking the “don't ask, don't tell” route. Most shops get their inventory
from the pot equivalent of home brewers or micro-brewers. Shops with better “boutique
suppliers” get the reputation for having better-quality weed (and regularly win the annual
Cannabis Cup trophy).
Everyone I've talked with in Amsterdam agrees that pot should never be bought on
the street. Well-established coffeeshops are considered much safer, as their owners have
an incentive to keep their trade safe and healthy.
The Dutch are not necessarily “pro-marijuana.” In fact, most have never tried it or
even set foot in a coffeeshop. They just don't think the state has any business preventing
the people who want it from getting it in a sensible way. To appease Dutch people who
aren't comfortable with marijuana, an integral component of the coffeeshop system is dis-
cretion. It's bad form to smoke marijuana openly while on the street. Dutch people who
don't like pot don't have to encounter or even smell it. And towns that don't want cof-
feeshops don't have them.
Easygoing as the Dutch may seem about smoking pot, many in the Netherlands want
to tighten things up. In the early 2010s, there was a new round of political pressure to
