Where you can smoke and where you can’t - Amsterdam coffeeshops FAQ

This is part of our Amsterdam Coffeeshops FAQ series.
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This is the question where the old answers have aged worst. When we first wrote this page you could light up walking down the street and, at most, get a stern word from a cop. That's over. Since May 2023 smoking cannabis on the street in the Red Light District and around Dam Square is a €100 fine, and the city's own rule for visitors is short: in the city center, smoke inside a coffeeshop.

The short answer

Smoke inside a coffeeshop, or on a coffeeshop's own terrace. Not on the street in the center, not in bars or clubs, and not in your hotel room unless the hotel says so.

First, the legal basics

Cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands. It's tolerated. The Dutch government's toleration policy means selling small amounts in a licensed coffeeshop is technically an offense that prosecutors choose not to pursue. The rules that matter to you:

• You must be 18 or older, and coffeeshops check ID.
• A coffeeshop can sell you no more than 5 grams per transaction, and 5 grams is also the most you can carry without risking prosecution.
• A 2013 rule limits sales to Dutch residents, but the government says enforcement is up to each city, and Amsterdam's coffeeshops still serve adult visitors.

Our coffeeshop basics page goes into more detail.

Can I buy weed in one place and smoke it in another coffeeshop?

Yes. The one piece of etiquette: order something, a coffee, a tea or a juice, since you're using their table. Do that and it's perfectly fine to bring your own stash from another shop and smoke it there. A coffeeshop crawl is still one of the pleasures of a visit, so move around as much as you like.

One thing has changed inside the shops. Under Dutch smoking law you can't smoke tobacco indoors in any hospitality business, coffeeshops included, and that applies to smoking rooms too. Pure cannabis joints are fine inside. The classic European joint mixed with tobacco is not. If you roll with tobacco, do it on the terrace.

Can I smoke on the street?

Not in the center. The City of Amsterdam's visitor rules put it first on the list: smoking cannabis in public in the city center is prohibited, so do it inside a coffeeshop. The same list bans drinking alcohol in public in the center.

The strictest zone is the one you're most likely to walk through. Since 25 May 2023, smoking cannabis on the street in the Red Light District, Dam Square, Damrak and Nieuwmarkt gets you a €100 fine, handed out by police or city enforcement officers. The exception is a coffeeshop's own terrace, which is still allowed even inside that zone. Step off the terrace and the joint has to go out.

Fines for general nuisance in Amsterdam run from €100 to €650, according to the city, and walking through a crowd with a joint is exactly the kind of thing the Red Light District ban was written for. Aside from the fine, it's rude. The people who live on those streets are the reason the rule exists.

Can I smoke in bars?

No. Amsterdam once had "smoker's bars" where weed and tobacco were both fine, but the Dutch hospitality smoking ban took effect on 1 July 2008. For a while a few Red Light District bars quietly ignored it, and older versions of this page named one. Those days are over: smoking inside is banned in every bar and café, and the separate smoking rooms some bars kept are banned now too (Rijksoverheid). A bar is not a coffeeshop, so don't light a joint there either, inside or out front.

What about nightclubs and concerts?

The same indoor ban covers clubs and concert halls. The big venues are busy places with security staff, and the old advice here (look around, and if people are smoking you'll probably be fine) will get you shown the door. Smoke before you go, at a coffeeshop. Our nightlife guide covers where to go afterward.

Can I smoke in my hotel or hostel?

Assume not. Almost all hotels and hostels are fully non-smoking now, and that includes rooms. Some places with a cannabis-friendly reputation set their own rules for a terrace or a bar area, so read the house rules before you book rather than after the front desk knocks on your door. A hotel that smells smoke in a non-smoking room can charge you for cleaning or ask you to leave.

If smoking matters to you, the practical plan is simple: pick a hotel within a few minutes' walk of a coffeeshop you like. Our where to stay guide can help.

What about parks?

Vondelpark is huge and fills up on sunny days with people relaxing any way they can. It sits just outside the center, and people do light up there, though less often than first-timers expect. The etiquette the original writer gave still applies: stay downwind of other people, keep to yourself, and if there are children nearby, don't do it at all. Watch for local signs too, since the city can ban public cannabis use in specific areas.

Where not to buy

Never buy from people on the street. The city warns that street-dealer drugs are mostly fake and can be dangerous, and you risk being robbed on top of it. Buy in a coffeeshop.

Where to smoke in Amsterdam FAQ

How much is the fine for smoking weed in the Red Light District?

€100, since 25 May 2023. The ban covers the Red Light District streets, Dam Square, Damrak and Nieuwmarkt, and police and city enforcement officers can both issue it.

Can I smoke on a coffeeshop terrace in the Red Light District?

Yes. A coffeeshop's own terrace is exempt from the street ban, even inside the ban zone.

Can I smoke a spliff with tobacco inside a coffeeshop?

No. Tobacco can't be smoked indoors in any hospitality business in the Netherlands. Pure cannabis is fine inside, and tobacco mixes belong on the terrace.

Are space cakes a way around the smoking rules?

The street ban is about smoking, but edibles bring their own problems: they take a long time to kick in and people overdo them all the time. Read our page on the dangers of space cakes first.

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