My mate told me last night that soon in Amsterdam foreign nationals won't be allowed to smoke in the coffeeshops, can anyone confirm or deny this?

I understood the law was changing and noone was allowed to smoke in the coffeeshops, similar to the smoking ban in English pubs that's coming in 2007.

Someone set my mind at rest or i'll have to start going to Prague instead.

Yes, it was in all the English papers.

It's not so much to stop people on holiday buying drugs as it is to stop foreign nationals from neighbouring countries crossing the boarders to stock up on drugs that are illegal in their country and then buggering off again.

Its nothing like the English pub smoking ban, that's a full ban. This is just a ban on foreign nationals who don't have a dutch passport.

As far as i'm aware it was a proposal to stop people stocking up on drugs for export.

I never saw it in the paper

So your saying to buy weed in a coffeeshop you must show your passport?

You can't buy it at all?

Well 50% of their tourist industry is up in smoke, or not as the case may be.

firstly, i didn't see anything other than a proposal, and secondly, yes that's about the gist of what it said.

Not sure of the official line on it, but I also heard reports that Amsterdam was trying to clean up its somewhat seedy image and the dope capital bit was a start.


As you say johnathome, thatll be a total drop in the tourist revenue - tulips and windmills arent as appealing when youre not off your tits on A grade White Widow...

Then don't go to Amsterdam, there are lotsa coffeeshops (and other happening places) in other cities without the hassle...like my hometown Tilburg! The main policy is...no harddrugs...no advertising...don't sell to minors (let an adult buy your shit kids!)...max 5 grams (come back later or let a friend(s) buy some more)...therefore bring ID (also dutch smokers!)...has nothing to do with nationality as far as I know. Coffeeshops are allowed to sell, but they must buy their stash through the backdoor...weird!

*BLOODY FOREIGNERS!

OMG!!!!
I was going on my 'lil Bros 30th to the Dam early next year! And it wasnt to see the frickin tulips/windmills/clogs!...
Arse!
When does this law come-in, then?

It's just a proposal...our government knows "the rest" is watching...
nah...no worries won't happen...they want to make money out of it like druglords...for real...they actually want to control growing/dealing grass! (besides xtc....grass is our main export product, not tulips and cheese )

shit - I 'll still sell ya any ganger you wish

Hell yeah bro! Got some nice homegrown Northernlight myself for a special price...and also by request I'll perform...nude..windmilling and clogdancing

Any chance you could give me a 'friend-slot' fer some 'o that NorthernLights, Vermin!
Bollix to Gov Controlled Substances!

I really don't want to visualise this, give me some drugs someone

http://www.cannabiscup.com/ht/cancup/

*about government controlled substances...if "criminals" can make lotsa cash why not make profit ourselves "they" say...but more important,
the THC-level in dutch cannabis is very high...manipulated. The government wants to ban selling "too strong" cannabis to tourists. In case of Amsterdam...no more stoned foreigners passing out, falling in the canals and getting robbed in alleys. Smoking only inside coffeeshops! That's why (IMO) the government wants to control cannabis harvest & distribution. So there's a "softdrugs-war" going on between dutch authorities and homegrowners...for the rest of the world to see, how they take care of small homegrowners and arrest them (happened to me once...100 plants! ). You are allowed, at a certain age, to buy and smoke cannabis at a coffeeshop...but you can't grow and sell it! FFS it's a plant! But wait a minute...there are growshops where you can buy seeds/lamps/fertilizer/etc. legally!

...oh well guess it's time for my herbal relief...flame on!

LOL everything has dried up round here. All the homegrowers I knew have been busted, some of the shipments coming in have been stopped too, according to my sources.

Us UK boys should meet on a chat medium and discuss some sort of arrangement.

Back OT, it will proly never happen, I mean for fucks sake most ppl just go there to get ruined and perhaps bring a bit of persies back for themselves.

Shit, just wanna say I do not condone drug use in any way, nor do I condone the growing or sale of it. Finally, no class A is in my house, hell I have banned that shit.

FTAO of the police, i HAVE NOTHING IN MY HOUSE.

I really never did understand any of this, all those people ravin about Holland/ Amsterdam.

Drugs bla di bla

Amsterdam sucks, in fact I think whole the Netherlands is lame.
I'd rather head for Norway, Canada etc. Empty places with very little people, man that would be sweet. Woooooops it's me being misanthropic again hehehhe LOL

I'll bet that half of the money made on grass was purchased by tourist.
Why would they risk that ??
They won't !! Prob will die in silence and no one will ever talk about it

The reason the Dam gets 'raved about' by us UK'ers is coz, until recently, the cops would lock-you up for havin a teenth! That and the fact that its where the 'good stuff' is!
I was there last year, and one of the things that stood out for me, (other than the tremendous variety/potency of the schmokes ), was the warmth of the natives! Every shop seems open to price-haggling; Try that in the UK and you get ejected from the premises!
I love the architecture, too, (no, seriously!), theres no where else with that mixture of old and new, classical and modern. It truly is a beautiful, all-round experience, imo!
Specially when your walking round with dilated pupils...

Gotta love the atmos. The whole thing about being able to openly smoke it is liberating to say the least.

Indeed. The only other place I can do that is the NEC Bike Show

lol

Being a non-smoker I found the most liberating thing there to be the plastic urinals they dump in the street for all the drunks to piss in. No nipping behind a skip for a quick waz.

That, and the availability of goat porn.

I was there for a mate's stag weekend and a group of 8 of us went into a coffee shop, for a coffee The woman behind the counter went to hand us the dope menu and couldn't believe it when 8 english blokes just wanted coffee.