This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
Do most people smoke joints in coffeeshops?
Yes, although this is probably a bigger subject than you realized. Most locals and visitors from elsewhere in Europe smoke one kind of joint and visitors from North America and most of the rest of the world smoke a completely different kind of joint. It’s interesting that this rule applies nearly 100% of the time so the crowd is usually very easy to sort out just by looking at their joints.
European-style joints – These “Euro-joints” (sometimes called “spliffs”) are usually much larger than the other style, and are mixed with more tobacco than cannabis. They are cone-shaped and the pointy end is completed with what is they call a “tip.” Usually a cigarette or two are broken up and that tobacco is combined with weed or hash to create the Euro-joint.
Rest of the world-style joints – These “skinny-joints” always consist of weed rather than hash, and nothing else is mixed in. They are typically long and thin, and no tip is used. When the joint gets down near the end, what’s left is referred to as a roach, which becomes very tricky to finish off completely.
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This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
What about other recreational drugs?
Mushrooms
“Magic” mushrooms were recently banned so those are likely going to be unavailable in the city’s notorious “smart shops.” The owners of the shops have pledged that they’ll try to find a substitute – possibly one that’s less safe than the mushrooms – so this is developing as of early 2008. Those smart shops sell “herbal ecstasy” and other pills that are mostly just cheap speed, but nothing good.
Cocaine, heroin, etc.
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This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
Can I buy weed one place and smoke it in another coffeeshop?
Yes, definitely. The only trick here is that it’s customary to order something, like coffee or tea, while you are using up some of their space. As long as you do that it’s perfectly acceptable to bring your own stash in and smoke it in a different coffeeshop. You can even grab the free rolling papers or ask to use one of their water pipes as long as you order something soon after entering. Going on a coffeeshop-crawl is one of the great joys of visiting Amsterdam, so by all means, move around all you want.
Can I smoke weed elsewhere in Amsterdam?
Yes, but it’s more restricted than some people would guess before they get here the first time. Basically, you can’t or shouldn’t smoke anywhere outside of the coffeeshops, but with a few exceptions:
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This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
The basics
If you are considering your first trip to Amsterdam and you are one of the billion or so earthlings who are interested in the subject of marijuana, you may have discovered that information on exactly how everything works in Amsterdam coffeeshops is hard to come by.
It’s easy to find brief and unhelpful information that discusses Amsterdam coffeeshops in a paragraph or two, and it’s also not hard finding websites where marijuana nerds dissect each other’s theories about smoking this or that. So if you have yet to visit an Amsterdam coffeeshop, the whole thing can be a little mysterious or intimidating. If you are brand new to the fun and endlessly rewarding activity of smoking weed and so forth, you might be interested in this well-written tutorial on how to smoke weed.
This guide will try to answer all your questions so when you arrive in Amsterdam you’ll already know what you are doing without having to feel embarrassed or out of place.
Is cannabis legal in the Netherlands?
Not exactly, but for the purposes of the casual visitor it is. I could go on for pages about the complex and contradictory laws and customs involving cannabis in the Netherlands, but the important thing to know is the country is very welcoming of tourists who want to try out smoking in the coffeeshops (almost always written as one word). It’s an important part of their tourism crowd and cannabis-related problems are very rare, especially compared to alcohol-related problems in the country or elsewhere.
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As most Americans are working their way toward a food-induced coma on Thanksgiving Day, many are abroad sacrificing themselves for what they all hope and pray is the greater good. Of course, I’m referring to the couple of thousand people - most of whom are Americans and Canadians - who pay to be judges at the annual High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam.
Since 1988 High Times Magazine (a publication I briefly worked for many years ago, by the way) has been sponsoring a cannabis festival in Amsterdam. In its current incarnation the …
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This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
Which is the best coffeeshop?
I have my personal favorites, but a big part of the fun is walking around discovering them for yourself. It’s a lot like asking which is the best bar in your hometown. You have your favorite because you like the music or decorations or layout or location, but if everyone decided it was the best bar it would always be so packed that you’d find a new hangout anyway.
The music in most of them tends to be pretty consistent from one day to the next. A shop called Baba plays trance and vocal house music all day every day, and I love that stuff so I love that place. You might hate trance and you might be happier in a shop that plays a lot of reggae or classic rock or whatever. My best advice is to try out several places as early in your stay as possible. You’ll soon find your own favorites.
I’ll be covering individual coffeeshop reviews elsewhere in the near future. For the moment you can see my Top 5 Amsterdam coffeeshops.
Which coffeeshop sells the strongest weed?
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This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
What about Amsterdam’s new no-smoking law?
Yeah, that’s a bummer. As of July 1, 2008, cigarette smoking has been banned in all public places where people work. It had already banned on a voluntary basis by most hotels and other public places, but the bars remained smoky through June, 2008. This means all the former “smokers’ bars” had to stop that since they can’t allow pot smoking there after cigarette smoking …
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This is part of an Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ page
>>go to the main Amsterdam Coffeeshops overview page
How do I go about buying marijuana or hashish once inside?
Okay, this is the most intimidating part for the first-time visitor. The coffeeshops aren’t allowed to advertise the cannabis outside or even inside the shops. You almost always have to ask to see the menu, although a few places do shun the law and have the menu posted on a chalkboard or something like that.
This seems really weird at first, or like something out of some ridiculous movie, but just go up to the person at the counter and casually ask to see the menu and they’ll know exactly what you are talking about. You’ll likely be handed or shown a laminated card with all the types of marijuana and hashish on it alongside the price for each.
How much does the weed and hash cost?
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I should start by saying that with only a few exceptions, pretty much all the coffeeshops in Amsterdam are cool in their own way. It’s a bit like the “dive bar” thing where sometimes the coolest and most enjoyable places are the ones everyone else ignores. And then when a dive bar gets really popular it loses a bit of its appeal for the former regulars. Yeah, that sounds a bit pretentious, but my point is that there is no such thing as the best coffeeshop for everyone for every occasion.
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I read a really interesting story on another cool Amsterdam guide about a recent study that shows that Dutch weed has gone down in strength a bit since last year, while prices have gone up. The Trimbos Institute – the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction – has been tracking price and strength information on cannabis in the Netherlands since 1999, and the 2007 results that were released this month show trends that both seem to be going in the wrong direction.
As you probably know, THC is short for Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the main psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant. The average level tested in 2007 is 16% compared to 17.5% in 2006. But to put things in perspective, marijuana that grows naturally normally ranges from 2% to 5% THC, and the average level in marijuana in the United States was 8.5% in 2006.
Even more dramatic was the drop in THC content in the imported hash the Trimbos Institute tested – from 18.7% in 2006 down to 13.3% in 2007. Most hash found in Amsterdam coffeeshops comes from Morocco, and a combination of a poor harvest and tighter drug policies in that country seem to have taken their toll on the hash that makes it to the Netherlands.
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