I don’t know if its just me, but I am really suprized people post questions about where to find drugs.

Drugs are illegal (even in Amsterdam, its just TOLERATED in small amounts).

Don’t be dumb. You can still be caught and arrested for purchasing / carrying drugs.

quote:
I don’t know if its just me, but I am really suprized people post questions about where to find drugs.

Drugs are illegal (even in Amsterdam, its just TOLERATED in small amounts).

Don’t be dumb. You can still be caught and arrested for purchasing / carrying drugs.

really? ive never done drugs but i had also been told pot was legal in amsterdam? hm learn somethin new everyday

Marijuana and Hash are legal, regulated, and available in Coffeshops along with baked goods (brownies, space cakes…etc.) You can smoke in any of the coffeshops though if don’t buy your pot there, you are expected to at least by a drink. Most bars also allow you to smoke joints, though its polite to ask before lighting up. If you’re not a regular smoker be careful of the baked goods as they take a good hour to kick in. Alot of people will sit down and smoke a lot after eating one and later find themselves really spun out when they leave. In addition there are also "smart shops" which sell mushrooms which are a real trip (excuse the pun) since they are sold fresh compared to the dried out mushrooms available back home. The staff at these places are really good and will give you help/advice if you ask.

Other harder drugs are available on the street (just as in every big city in the world) but are illegal. Anytime you’re going deal with people on the street you’re taking risks and in my opinion it’s not worth the trouble in a city where there are several legal alternatives.

Kansas – mdma is pretty available and easy to find in most discos across Europe, but of course theres no rules to this so check out the situation and use your head. Those same smart shops in amsterdam also sell what they call "herbal extasy". Mdma is illegal in Ams but these smart shops sell basically everthing else that is not illegal which are usually cocktails of various natural substances (such as Ephedra) but I doubt they are a viable substitute.

Make sure to check out the Cannabis College. The museum upstairs is free but for a one euro fee you can see their green room downstairs.

Nadrazi… it is not legal.

EVERYONE has a huge misconception about the legality of certain drugs in Netherlands, specifically marijuana.

All hard (LSD) and soft (marijuana) drugs are illegal in the Netherlands under Dutch law.

Weed is not legal, it is tolerated. The Netherlands goverment believes that is easier to control, if its visible. Strictly speaking the sale and use of soft drugs is illegal too, but use and possession for personal use (up to 30 grams) a blind eye is turned and you will not be prosecuted. That is why, when you go to a ‘coffee shop’ that you cannot buy a large quantity. It is controlled.

HUGE difference.

Coffeshops are allowed to sell soft drugs openely and to keep supplies greater than the amount allowed by law for personal use, though they can only sell to individual customers in the amounts allowed for personal use. In practice &quotersonal use" is 5 cannabis plants for growing and possesion of 5 grams of hash or marijuana.

However much of the marijuana in coffeshops comes from outside the country, run by criminals and has thus made the Neths a main hub for drug trafficking in Europe – so now the Dutch gov is looking into implementing state lead production and cultivation of cannabis.

Cannabis is still a controlled substance but the government follows a policy of non-enforcement and the statutes are mainly kept on the books because they are needed in order to comply with many international treaties. Even the Dutch courts have ruled against the government when they tried to prosecute individual cases and public prosecutors have official guidelines from the Justice Department under which offenders should NOT be prosecuted. Coffeshops even pay taxes with special personalized exemptions to account for the sale of marijuana.

We can argue semantics all you want, but in the grand reality of things – marijuana is Legal in the Netherlands. Despite transparent laws forced upon them from international pressure, cannabis is not a controlled substance in the Netherlands. Its is a regulated substance just like alcohol.

gbtlj is right Nadrazi.
It’s not legal. It’s condoned.
There is a difference and once you start thinking about it you’ll see it’s not semantics but a huge difference.
If the dutch government decides tomorrow to enforce the law then they can instantly close all coffeeshops and arrest all the owners.
Granted it is not likely to happen but it is possible which makes it more than just semantics.
Not only that but they are using the fact that it’s condoned to limit the number of coffeeshops.
In general under dutch law you can start a business as long as you meet the requirements to operate that business. Coffeeshops are different in that a certain number get permission to operate while new coffeeshops are not allowed to open. Something that isn’t possible under dutch law when it comes to businesses that are not technically ‘illegal’.
I’ll admit that it’s a messed up situation but that doesn’t change the fact that technically coffeeshops are illegal.

As for mdma… forget about it. You’ll be unlike to find anything that hasn’t been cut up with speed.

What I was saying is that the attitude the courts have take toward the issue along with prosecution guidelines has given room for a more or less de facto legalization of the cannabis retail trade. However the trade of naturally occuring drugs such as cannabis violate international agreements such as the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to which the Netherlands is a party.

quote: At the U.S.�s insistence, cannabis was placed under the heaviest control regime in the Convention, Schedule IV. The argument for placing cannabis in this category was that it was widely abused. The WHO later found that cannabis could have medical applications after all, but the structure was already in place and no international action has since been taken to correct this anomaly.

Sure the Netherlands could chose to enforce these laws but doesn’t and I think that is high unlikely since said laws are more of a way to adhere to international agreements/pressure.

Your example of opening a new coffeshop is very similar to a wine & spirits shop in Pennsylvania. Wine and spirits are strictly prohibited from sale outside of an official Pennsylvania Wine an Spirit store, all of which are completely owned and operated by the commonwealth.
Only the PCLB can own and operate as well as open new stores. Those already open can only purchase from a given list of vendors already given vendor bids by the PCLB. The commonwealth even controlls the procurement of all equipment, furniture, supplies and services needed to operate the Agency’s offices, stores, and distribution centers. Also doens’t seem possible for business that are techincally "legal".

Sure the situation is a little messed up there, but it’s a lot more messed up elsewhere.

So it sounds like there is confusion between legal and Decriminilized
Such as it is in canada it is decriminilized but is stil very much illeagal.