Q2: Coffee Shops without Koffie

Maastricht, Nederland

Some of the most common questions I received while I was back in the States over the holidays were about illicit substances in The Netherlands. A random sample:

• What aisle at the supermarket has the cannabis? Herbs and spices? Produce? Floral? (Answer: It is only sold at “coffee shops” or Smart shops)
• Is it permissible to smoke a hookah on the subway? (Smoking in a public, closed areas is illegal)
• Do people give marijuana plants instead of poinsettias during the holiday season? (No, they often give homemade gifts or write funny poems)

Seemingly, Dutch people pride themselves on tolerance and openness as a society, but, this is not precisely why The Netherlands “tolerates” drugs like cannabis. As many of you already know or experienced for yourself, The Netherlands allows the possession of “soft” drugs, like cannabis. While still technically illegal, possession of up to 5 grams of cannabis is not prosecuted. However, the Dutch government considers heroin and cocaine “hard” drugs, prohibits their possession, polices, and prosecutes them aggressively. Instead of prosecuting the problem as a criminal issue and pushing the practice underground, the Netherlands tries to treat the problem from the demand-side as a disease. In this way, most Dutch believe that drugs have a “negative” impact on society and should be avoided. Consequently, the Dutch have very low levels of use and addiction.

“Coffee Shops” sell cannabis and also allow you to smoke inside. I know of three in The Hague including the two on our block. It is illegal to promote the sale of cannabis, hence these places are called “coffee shops” or “tea houses” and are harder to spot (which is why I probably only know of three) Incidentally, if you want to buy a coffee (koffie), go to a “cafe” because the Coffee Shops pretty much only sell cannabis and hashish and accessories.

The two Coffee Shops on our block are depressing places. There are very few windows, through which you can see dozen chairs surrounding a couple fold-up picnic tables with ashtrays on top. The sidewalk outside reeks of marijuana and marijuana smoke. They are little more than drive through drug dealers. I hate to be a no-fun-nik, but it does lead to a lot of sketchy people on our street and alters, somewhat, an otherwise quiet neighborhood on a canal.

“Tolerating” marijuana also creates a lot of ironies:

Thank you for not smoking (tobacco) – like the rest of the West, tobacco smoking indoors is strictly prohibited. This means no tobacco smoking is allowed (technically) inside marijuana-smoke filled coffee houses. This presents a small problem because most people mix their cannabis or hashish with tobacco. In the one “less-sketchy” coffee shop in the centruum, they have a “smoking” section, where you may smoke a cigarette. Seating is limited to two persons.

Please Report Plantations - There are campaigns to identify and shut down “cannabis plantations.” The town hall will even provide you with “scratch and sniff” samples so you would know how to identify one. According to the brochure, growing large amounts of pot indoors is dangerous because it can lead to electrical fires and wastes water. No mention of the health dangers of the extreme consumption of Cool Ranch Doritos and Mama Celeste frozen pizzas.

Like many Western governments in recent years, The Netherlands has tilted to the right of the political spectrum. This conservative bent has given more weight to the parties who would like to increase restrictions on sale of drugs. For the past few years, due to pressure from large E.U. neighbors like France and Germany, Dutch governments (regional and national) have been trying to limit the sale of illicit drugs. For example, Maastricht, a Dutch border city we visited, ratified a law forbidding sale to non-Dutch residents. This creates a host of interesting questions because many E.U. Citizens believe that they should not be denied rights if they immigrate to another E.U. country. This will be interesting to see how it plays out as it winds its way through Dutch and E.U. courts.

My takeaway is probably no surprise to you. While I am not a smoker or a toker, this approach seems “neater” than criminalizing the behavior and pushing it underground. Besides, the results speak for themselves. The Dutch have fewer people who smoke pot less often (arguably) and with much much less violent crime and that is hard to argue about.