| The Netherlands realised back in the 70s that | | | | programmes. Holland's climate is not |
| fighting the "war on drugs" was also fighting | | | | particularly well suited to cannabis |
| a losing battle. Although almost all other | | | | cultivation, so most of the high quality weed |
| countries in the world continue the struggle, | | | | is grown indoors under artificial lighting. |
| the Dutch sought to minimise the impact of | | | | In the same way that Scotland and France have |
| drugs on their society, using more forward | | | | their whiskey and wine connoisseurs, much |
| thinking tactics. They decided to make a | | | | expertise and excellence surrounds Holland's |
| clear distinction between soft drugs | | | | cannabis growing industry. |
| (cannabis, magic mushrooms etc) and addictive | | | | |
| hard drugs (heroin and cocaine). This | | | | Coffee-shops must be granted a license before |
| division allowed the authorities to regulate | | | | they are permitted to sell cannabis and the |
| and tax the cannabis trade, and put far more | | | | market is closely regulated. They are not |
| resources into the cracking down on drugs | | | | permitted to advertise their greenery so you |
| which did the real damage to society. | | | | won't find flashing neon signs saying "buy |
| | | | cannabis here!" - instead, buy a guidebook to |
| Strictly speaking, cannabis is still not | | | | find out which cafes are coffee-shops and |
| legal in Amsterdam; instead it is | | | | then when you enter, approach the bar and ask |
| "decriminalised" - adults without a license | | | | for the "menu". You will then be presented |
| to grow or sell can possess a maximum of 5 | | | | with a list of many different varieties of |
| grams without reprimand, although in | | | | marijuana and hash, which are sold by weight. |
| practice, possession of up to 30 grams is | | | | |
| permitted. When this policy first came into | | | | Businesses that rely on tourism, such as |
| effect, pioneering coffee-shops exploited the | | | | hostels and hotels in Amsterdam have |
| situation by openly selling cannabis. At | | | | benefited greatly from cannabis tourism and |
| first, they were frequently raided by the | | | | despite continuing pressure from less liberal |
| police, but by 1980, a level of tolerance was | | | | governments such as the UK, France and the |
| reached; as long as there were never any hard | | | | US, the trade remains alive and well. |
| drugs on site and the owners were discreet, | | | | |
| the police would let them be. | | | | However, the current Dutch government is more |
| | | | conservative and has inspired local councils |
| In the early days, most coffee-shops imported | | | | to enforce all coffee-shop regulations very |
| hash to sell, which obviously created legal | | | | strictly; any that fall foul of the rules are |
| problems, as they were purchasing and | | | | permanently shut down and not replaced. This |
| trafficking goods that were illegal outside | | | | means that the overall number of coffee-shops |
| of Holland. This lead to the growth in Dutch | | | | in Holland continues to diminish, so if you |
| cultivated cannabis plants (known as | | | | want to enjoy the hash bar high of Amsterdam, |
| Nederwiet), which has now become a science | | | | do it sooner rather than later, because who |
| with hundreds of different strains available | | | | knows how long Holland's period of |
| which are the result of cross breeding | | | | enlightenment will last. |