The Drugs Scene in Amsterdam
January 2017When a goodly number of people hear the word Amsterdam, preconceived notions of wild and carefree drugs use spring to mind.
Reality though is a bit different.
Thanks to big corporate media, the portrayal of Amsterdam as an unrestricted drugs haven has been pounded into the minds of many.
But what isn't portrayed are the ways Amsterdam is less of a drugs haven than, say, the United States.
For instance, drugs use amongst Dutch folks is much lower than that of their American counterparts.
Another example is over-the-counter drugs.
Many over-the-counter drugs and medicines found on store shelves in the US would require a doctor's prescription in Amsterdam.
And regarding prescription drugs, there is certainly no shortage in the United States, even for children. Prescription drugs are liberally in use in the US.
Amsterdam has a classification system for drugs as Hard Drugs or Soft Drugs.
Hard Drugs are strictly illegal, and include things like cocaine, heroin and ecstasy.
Soft Drugs are also illegal, but they are what the Dutch term as 'tolerated', meaning they are de facto decriminalized.
Soft Drugs include cannabis products such as marijuana buds, hashish, space cake (edible cannabis), natural hallucinogens, and even sleeping pills and sedatives such as Valium and Seresta.
The selling of cannabis products is 'tolerated' in so-called Coffeeshops, while the selling of other natural, mind-stimulating products are allowed to be sold in so-called Smartshops.
Smartshops became famous for selling Magic Mushrooms. But Magic Mushrooms were made illegal in 2008 after a number of unfortunate incidents hit the headlines, such as a couple of tourists under the influence jumping out of windows. Now Smartshops sell Magic Truffles instead, which aren't much different than their mushroom cousin. Peyote and hallucinogenic cacti can also be found in some Smartshops.
Amsterdam's 200 or so coffeeshops and dozen or so Smartshops can sell their wares to anyone 18 and over, including tourists. Many stories in the media have reported on the banning of tourists from coffeeshops, but this has so far only occurred in some Dutch cities outside of Amsterdam.
Coffeeshops may sell up to five grams of cannabis to a given person in a single day. Cannabis can be smoked on premises, but tobacco is no longer allowed, and coffeeshops cannot serve alcohol as they did years ago.
Open cannabis smoking is also allowed in some bars and other venues, like public parks. The basic rule of thumb is if you want to smoke up outdoors, be discreet, don't bother anyone, don't smoke around children, and you shouldn't have any problems.
Be aware that locals and many Europeans smoke joints that contain a mixture of cannabis and tobacco. So if you are ever offered and take a big puff off a spliff in Amsterdam, but you're not used to smoking tobacco in your joints, you may end up in the toilet heaving your guts out.
Alcohol is legal in Amsterdam except for pure grain alcohol. The drinking age is 18, although until recently it was 16 for beer and wine.
