Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
selling marijuana, with display cases showing various joints or bag-
gies for sale. The minimum age for purchase is 18, and coffeeshops
can sell up to five grams of mari-
juana per person per day. Locals
buy marijuana by asking, “Can I
see the cannabis menu?” Because
it's illegal to advertise marijuana,
the buyer has to take the initia-
tive and request a menu. In some
places there's actually a button
you must push and hold down
to see an illuminated menu, the
contents of which look like the
inventory of a drug bust.
The big buzz on the coffeeshop scene is the new smoking ban.
The new laws pertain to tobacco smoke, not pot smoke. But the
Dutch, like the rest of Europe, mix their marijuana with tobacco. It
might seem strange to an American, but these days, if a coffeeshop
is busted, it's for tobacco. Coffeeshops with a few outdoor seats
have a huge advantage, as their customers can light up outside.
Shops without the 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. As a sub-
stitute for tobacco, shops have started mixing a kind of herb tea
into joints. Pre-rolled joints are now sold three ways: pure, with
the non-tobacco “hamburger helper” herb mix, or with tobacco. If
you like your joint tobacco-free anyway, pure marijuana joints are
much easier to buy now than a year ago.
Shops sell marijuana and hashish both in pre-rolled joints and
in little baggies. Some places sell individual joints (€2-5). Others
sell only small packs of three or four joints. Baggies of marijuana
usually cost €10-15. Some shops charge per gram. The better pot,
while costlier, is actually a better value, as it takes less to get high—
and it's a better high. Shops have loaner bongs and inhalers, and
they dispense cigarette papers like toothpicks. As long as you're a
paying customer (e.g., buy a cup of coffee), you can pop into any
coffeeshop and light up, even if you didn't buy your pot there.
Pot should never be bought on the street in Amsterdam, and
don't smoke marijuana openly while walking down the street.
Well-established coffeeshops are considered much safer, and
cofeeshop owners have an interest in keeping their trade safe and
healthy. They warn Americans—unused to the strength of the
local stuff—to try a lighter leaf. In fact, they are generally very
patient in explaining the varieties available.
Several forms of the cannabis plant are sold. Locals smoke
more hashish (the sap of the cannabis plant) than the leaf of the
