Coffee Shops and Museum of Hemp

Coffee Shops and Museum of Hemp fall in the category of “When in Rome” things of Amsterdam.  Oude Kerk could easily be described as a historic church steeped in the world of modern day sinners. In the vicinity of the church one can find not one, not two, but twelve coffee shops. And by coffee shops in Amsterdam we mean coffee and weed.

Amsterdam’s affiliation with marijuana started in the swinging sixties. The first unofficial marijuana shop opened in 1972  on the Weesperzijde. Back then it was called a tea-house, not a coffee-shop. Always liberal and sure as hell ahead of their time, the Dutch first decriminalized marijuana and hash in 1976.

Since then the laws have not been exactly clear about the legality of marijuana use in the Netherlands. Yes it is legal to buy,  yes it is legal to sell. It is not however legal to buy directly from growers or smoke indoors and this surprisingly enough includes, coffee shops. An easy pick located right next to Oude Kerk is the Coffee Shop of “the Bulldog, the first” .

Of course in a city where there are more than 250 different coffee shops it would be far-reaching to select just a few based on our own taste. We could however depend on the selection of two or three independent web sites that definitely know more about the subject. The following link will hopefully prove to be helpful enough.

If your knowledge on the subject is restricted, the following place offers a fast and informative tutoring on everything that has to do with cannabis, from historical research to scientific insight. The Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Amsterdam is the oldest and most important museum in the world dedicated to Cannabis Sativa L., also known as hemp or marijuana.

Since 2009, the museum in Amsterdam has occupied two complementary sites along the same canal. The museum focuses on hash and marijuana, while the Hemp Gallery is entirely dedicated to industrial hemp. Your ticket gives you access to both these sites.

Experienced volunteers at the Cannabis College (a non-profit organisation located along the same canal as the museum) are available to help you find answers to all your queries about cannabis and hemp, and can often answer them directly.