‘Low-Risk’ Drug Sales Considered Acceptable : In Amsterdam, Cannabis Is High on Coffee Shop Menu

A man in a pinstriped suit pockets a packet of choice Thai marijuana and walks out of a coffee shop on Amsterdam’s central square, leaving a crowd of regulars puffing on joints and sipping juices and milkshakes.

“You get all sorts of people coming here to buy stuff,” says Bert, the in-house cannabis salesman. “Bankers, lawyers, doctors, TV people, councilors, even families come in for their supplies.”

Once a police station and now Amsterdam’s largest coffee shop on the central Leidseplein, The Bulldog is a multimillion-dollar business that draws hundreds of tourists.

A 1976 law draws a distinction between narcotics and drugs considered to have a lower risk, such as cannabis products like marijuana and hashish. But the government warns that these have harmful effects, too, as do tobacco and alcohol.

Arrests Are Rare

Anyone found with up to one ounce of cannabis is technically guilty of a minor offense, but arrests are rarely made and prosecution virtually unknown. In any case, the maximum penalty for such a small amount is one month in prison or a $200 fine.

Those found exceeding the ounce limit by selling, delivering, dealing or growing larger quantities of cannabis, however, are seriously penalized.

Of the country’s estimated 600 “coffee shops” where marijuana and hashish are sold and openly consumed, Amsterdam has 350.

“Alcohol and dope is not always a good combination. It is now available in some coffee shops, but it is important for people to know how to smoke and drink without feeling ill,” said Henk de Vries, who pioneered the coffee shop concept.

No Longer Taboo

De Vries, who runs the main Bulldog cafe as well as four branches in the capital, said that over their 12-year history, his bars had gradually shaken off their illegal, taboo image.

“The Bulldog is a social service and a whole philosophy. In the sections of the cafe where we serve alcohol we have to close by law at 1 a.m. By making the dealing area a dry zone we can open our doors to people until 3 in the morning,” de Vries said.

De Vries is firmly against hard drugs. Hard-drug addicts and children under 16 are kept out. Employees are fired if they use cocaine.

In a corner behind the door, Bert, once a computer programmer, quietly runs a more lucrative occupation. “Good stuff that Lebanese hash,” he says, pointing to a menu on the wall bearing prices and names of 17 varieties of cannabis.

Seven Joints a Day

“Try some,” he said, offering a scroll of slow-burning weed. “I’ve been smoking seven joints a day for 10 years and it hasn’t done me any harm. Drink is worse, I’m sure,” he added.

The atmosphere is relaxed and the clientele very mixed.

A couple of middle-age men are nibbling banana “spacecake,” dosed liberally with hashish, while a lone teen-age girl sits at the bar eating natural yogurt.

“There is never a fight in the Bulldog. The customers and staff are too decent and sweet for that. By smoking hash or grass you get friendly, not aggressive,” De Vries said.

Few Problems

Amsterdam police agree that the city’s coffee shops are relatively trouble-free, though hard drugs have been found on the premises. Alcohol causes more problems, a police spokeswoman said. “We have a limited police force and problems with prison space. Our first priority is to deal with hard drugs and to investigate cases of organized crime.”

Even if the government changed its drug policy to bring it more in line with the rest of Europe, the coffee shops would not be badly hit, De Vries said.

He said that of his income, the drug side represents only about 5%.