Drew's Cannabis Information Site - Dutch coffeeshop guide

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What are coffeeshops?
The legal situation
What to look for
Some Dutch practicalities
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Coffeeshops are an almost exclusively Dutch phenomenon at the present time. Basically they are cafés, or more rarely (and only in Amsterdam) bars, which also sell cannabis and cannabis products, and tolerate its consumption within. There's nothing underhand about buying and/or smoking inside one - it is all perfectly upfront. If you can't see an obvious dealer, or cannabis menu, just ask whoever's serving at the bar. They will sell a wide range of weed, from pretty bog-standard stuff up to fairly lethal "superskunk" - take with discretion!

There are about 300 coffeeshops in Amsterdam, and other sizeable towns will usually have a few. However do note that they do not appear all over Holland - there aren't any at all in the Frisian islands, for instance, and you will struggle to find any in very small towns or villages. The heartland of the coffeeshop is the Randstad, the incredibly densely populated strip of land roughly lying between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the North Sea coast. All the towns described in this guide lie in that area - as you might have guessed from the map on the last page. However I am always ready to receive reports from anywhere in this fair country! (There are also a lot near the German border, particularly in the town of Venlo, and you'll probably be able to guess where most of their trade comes from.)

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Many people think cannabis is legal in the Netherlands but this is in fact a misconception. Basically it is official policy that the personal possession of amounts up to 5 grams is tolerated. (It used to be 30 grams until the French got too annoyed.) In practice, the large-scale possession and dealing of weed by certain premises is also tolerated - the coffeeshops, in other words. There are restrictions on who can enter - no-one under 18 is allowed in a coffeeshop, and only in Amsterdam are coffeeshops also permitted to sell beer (and in practice there are very few really good coffeeshops that do anyway). They do still get raided sometimes by the police - but they are on the look out for hard drugs and weapons, so even if you do feel so inclined, don't carry these things into a coffeeshop.

While it isn't exactly illegal to smoke in places other than coffeeshops, I wouldn't go into other bars, restaurants, shops and so on and start puffing away. Many people confuse tolerance with approval - it is to the credit of the Dutch that they are, as a nation, generally able to make this distinction. Cannabis use is tolerated, but it is not necessarily approved of in Holland. But then again that's why coffeeshops exist...

Note that some towns, such as Leiden, restrict the opening hours of coffeeshops.

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Let's face it, anyone can, in the end, open up a building, allow people to smoke there, sell a bit of weed if they can get hold of it and call themselves a coffeeshop. Doing it well, of course, is much harder. And I'm not saying I know all the answers here - after all, I've never done it. But as a customer, here's what I like:

Comfort. One thing you have to remember is that coffeeshops don't make their profits on coffee. Or tea or biscuits. They make it on selling weed. And - especially in the smaller towns, where coffeeshops cater mostly to locals rather than tourists - this means that there's not necessarily the motivation to put in things like sofas or other comfortable chairs of the sort that we wussy tourists might think absolutely necessary for a long smoking session. Which is fine if you like that sort of thing... but for those who feel like staying somewhere for a while, you need comfy seats.
Refreshments. Being an Englishman, I like my cups of tea, but these damn Continentals don't always know how to make one... in any case you are usually limited in a coffeeshop to tea, coffee, soft drinks and maybe some chocolate bars. Once again, that's fair enough, but those which do serve a slightly more expansive menu are worth looking out for. Incidentally if you're not used to mixing cannabis and beer, be careful if and when you do - preferably, smoke first, as if you have your first smoke when you're already quite drunk, you'll regret it...
Range and quality of weed. Of course! Don't feel you have to buy for your whole holiday in one go, incidentally. There is so much around you might as well get 1g at a time (the smallest amount you'll get sold of one type) and experiment. Try and know your limits though - getting monged off your face by 1:30 pm is fine sometimes, but not if you were planning to make a day of it. Don't feel ashamed to check the strength. In Dutch you say: "Ik ben een dommer buiterlander". It's a good excuse for any situation and will get you treated with sympathy. (Translation: "I am a stupid foreigner.") The best coffeeshops will have scales with visible displays, so you know you're not getting ripped off when you buy.
General vibe. Some places have it, others don't... maybe it's the decor, or a good crowd, or good music. I like the way coffeeshops (because they're not corporate, ergo bland and safe) are all very much themselves, and no one really looks like any other. It always seems like a lot of time and creativity has gone into their decoration. It doesn't always work - and some are really pretty naff and plastic and don't really care about keeping people comfy - but almost any coffeeshop is interesting and unique enough to keep you entertained for at least as long as it takes to skin up and smoke it. The best ones are amongst the finest smoking experiences you can have.

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So many Dutch people speak English that it's almost impossible to find a non-English speaker anywhere, particularly in Amsterdam. But, after all, they do have a language of their own, and I always think it polite to learn at least a few basics... and it gets you better service too.

May I speak English?
Mag ik Engels sprekke? (say "makh...". Don't say, "Can you speak English?" - they all can. This is politer.)

Thanks (a lot)
Dank u (wel)

Bye
Tot ziens

Here's a page with some links to Dutch language tutors and the like.

Those flying into Holland will invariably arrive at Schiphol Airport - nominally the airport for Amsterdam, but this is such a small and crowded country that it serves as the main international airport for pretty much the whole western side of the country. There is a train station in the airport building - trains run every 15 minutes or so to Amsterdam and almost as frequently to other nearby locations.

Despite the occasional moans about it by the Dutch themselves (try coming to Britain if you want to see crap trains...), the Dutch rail system is brilliant: the Dutch Railways web site has an online timetable. If you want to use buses or trams, get a strippenkaart, which you are supposed to get stamped each time you go on one of these journeys (just make sure you watch what everyone else does).

If you're the type seduced by promises of endless flat landscapes and happy jolly Dutch people tootling along on gleaming cycles, you could try renting a bike... then you discover the reality, which is ancient machines (newer ones just get nicked, so everyone rides something which looks like it survived WW2), no lights or bells, tram tracks, cobbles, locals who ride while talking into a mobile phone and at the same time holding an umbrella and a baby after midnight with no lights, paranoia and a lot of people who you suddenly realise are far more used to riding in these conditions than you are. Walking suddenly becomes a very good idea.

Get yourself a decent guidebook before you go, at least, unless you're planning to spend the whole holiday in a coffeeshop (which of course you might well be - but Holland deserves better than that, it's a nice place, you know). Rough Guides are always a good start: they publish one just for Amsterdam, one for the whole country and a Dutch phrasebook.

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