INTRO
In Amsterdam by night is not really hard to meet some strange dealer, most of them are in groups of 3-4 persons. Avoid to talk with them and they will leave without trouble. Usually they are not aggressive, but pay attention when exiting out of the "centruum". Beyond the red light district is full of dark streets, only pickpockets and pushers. Brrr ;))

Remember: pay attention to your money and always count the change you are given back!

Don't buy nothing on the streets. Don't smoke in pubblic. Don't do any bullshit like singing/screaming, smashing bottles, urinating in the streets, etc...
Holland policemans are really strict and they won't tolerate vandalism of any kind.

Don't be rude and keep in mind the good manners so try to use words like "please"or "thank you", however, you know what we are talking about.

Have your passport always with you. Keep it in a safe place, surely not in external pockets or in a bag.

Don't try to visit everything the first day. Take it easy!
Buy a map. Touristic guides are o.k., useful to quickly find out many interesting places, saving your time and money. On the reviewed booklet Cool Guide To Amsterdam ($10 only) you will find a lot of important information and many really cool tips, also a basic city map is included.

Drink something when in a coffee shop and have some good time. It's not just a smoke trade place.
If the coffee shop is full and you are taking a table it's expected by you to keep ordering drinks and that you smoke only the stuff you bought there. However Amsterdam has plenty of coffee shops and there's really no reason to hang for hours in a packed place.

To have a smoking-day :) in Amsterdam can be very pleasant, but even a nightmare if you abuse  smoke or spacecakes. Spacecake starts playing with your mind after an hour or even 2 hours, depends on what have you eaten before.
Beware, if the effect is too strong for you, than it's better to sit down somewhere and drink or eat something sweet. Sweets are good for recovering yourself from THC overstone but avoid to eat too much, if you don't feel good go outside and take some deep breaths.

Getting around with some smoke in your pocket is not a big problem here. If you don't do stupid things, everything will be o.k. (and if you are not too stoned ;). Take it easy :)

Beware of the passing bikes and trams(everything moves so fast and you are very very slow when stoned, so take care...).

In Amsterdam's centre there are some car parking houses, but they cost about 2.5euro/hour. If you are thinking about parking out of the centre it is a good idea to use the AmsterdamArena car parking (under the Arena stadium, the symbol of this parking is the "P+R" signboard) and it costs about 6euro/day (with a tram ticket).

There are many hotels and hostels in Amsterdam, often the cheapest and those on central location are crowded, so it's a good idea to book in time. To save some money check the camping sites out of the city (also nice bungalows available). Some useful links about hotels/hostels/campings and a very helpful link to 10 days weather forecast can be found on the links page.

Remember, nothing is free and Amsterdam isn't a cheap place to stay. It's hard to be there without money so it's better to save some more BEFORE the travel...

ABOUT COFFEE SHOPS
You can find hundreds of coffee shops all over the Netherlands. Amsterdam and Rotterdam are the two cities with greatest diversity of coffee shops, we divide them in three categories:
- relaxing, with relaxing atmosphere and low music (please avoid these places if your company is loud)
- neutral, brighter shops with popular music (good places to make someone's acquaintance, some of them also sell beer)
- loud, pub or disco/club style with music at higher volumes (ideal for louder companies, also most of them have alcohol too)

Some of coffee shops will weight the stuff in front of you but most of them sell preweighted bags at prices of 5, 10, 12.5 and 25 euros. The maximum ammount you may buy in a coffee shop is 5g per person.

Here you can find photos of menus from many coffee shops.

20 BEST AMSTERDAM'S COFFEE SHOPS:

ABOUT MARIJUANA
Marijuana is a Mexican term for the Cannabis (Indica, Sativa and Ruderalis -For detailed description we suggest you to take a visit to the Amsterdam Cannabis College) in many countries the term Marijuana means dried female Cannabis buds prepared for consumption.

The strongest Cannabis varieties are Indicas and Sativas. To name some strains:

Basically the Sativa produces an energetic uplifting high(clear head and body; communicative -the strongest sativas in some people may cause panic attacs) and the Indica produces a lay down stone(dizzy with slower movement; monged -the strongest indicas in some people may cause paleness and vomit). We said "basically" because there are so many subspecies of sativas and indicas with totaly different characteristics.

Many smokers prefer to smoke hybrids instead of pure Indicas or pure Sativas.
Hybrids are mainly divided into 3 categories: Mostly Sativa, Indica / Sativa and Mostly Indica.

Just try a few strains of different categories and you will quickly discover which type of grass works best for you. A good tip is to start the day with a mild Sativa or mostly Sativa strain and go stronger later in the afternoon, in the evening it's time for some good hash and Indica hybrids, and a pure Indica stone is the best way to finish your Amster-day.

Marijuana's THC can be detected in urine where it will last from 3 to 21 days or even over a month if smoked regularly.

ABOUT SMOKING
The joint is a mix of tobacco and grass(or hashish of course). Tobacco is a source of nicotine and tar so it's better to put a minimum of tobacco. If possible roll it pure without tobacco. In both cases (with or without tobacco) you inhale a very hot smoke.

Better solution is a pipe. The only complain compared to joint is the fact that the bigger pipes are not very easy to take away with you, also the pipe should be cleaned regularly. Both joint and pipes are based on a combustion principle(burning of materia) which is the source of monoxide and other released toxins. A good solution is a water pipe or "bong".

To inhale only the good ingredients you can use a vaporizator which heats the grass without or with very little combustion and the final result is so better and so different in every aspect compared to any other smoking method that it cannot be putted together into the same category. When we talk about vaporizators we talk about vaping, not smoking.

At the Cannabis College and in some coffee shops (2 pieces available at the "420 Cafe" coffee shop!) is possible to try the best vaping machine today, the Volcano Vaporizer. A piece of German high technology, highly wanted by many (listprice=400euro). Is it worth the price? (Or should we ask ourselves:"Does the health have a price?") Read the note below...  Recommended “uber alles” because of undisputed quality. Works like no other.
*(note: The Volcano system vaporizer releases flavouring and active ingredients from herbs through vaporisation by hot air. Optimum treatment of the active ingredients reduces the development of harmful substances and odours to a minimum. This means that even non-smokers find the vaporizer enjoyable. A further advantage of the Volcano is the exploitation of active ingredients, being 3-4 times greater when compared with smoking, an aspect which makes investment in the device pay for itself in the shortest possible time.)
To say it in other words, the Volcano doesn’t need tobacco but just pure grass or hash(softer kinds are vaped better than hard ones, try different temperature settings to find the right setup). Appreciated by everyone who wants to stop inhaling tar, nicotine, monoxide and other toxins. Excellent for home use, low odor level, the Volcano's bag can be filled and taken out with you (it's recommended to consume the bag in 15-30 minutes at max.). Grass can be vaped 4 times or more before it's thrown away and the effect is 2-4 times stronger compared to joint. Optimal solution for everyone who have limited suply, the stuff will last many times longer. Also highly recommended for clubs and other places where friends use to meet for a spliff.

CHOOSE YOUR DESTINATION:

Take a look at our selection of Gifts, Shirts, Books...
last update: 18. October 2007

On the link above we posted some ideas for a nice gift. All items were selected by us, no random offers here.
Every listed item has a link at the Amazon shop, we find it one of the most reliable webshops.
P.S. Check out the 2007 calendars! Very nice images, highly recommended.

Amsterdam Coffee Shop Guide
TheSmokingTeam

WE DON'T SELL DRUGS! This is an informative site only. Have a good time.

AMSTERDAM COFFEE SHOP GUIDE <®> °TheSmokingTeam° <®> since 1997

Please e-mail us your comments about coffee shops you have visited: tstmailboard@yahoo.com all letters will be posted on-line on the mailboard page to help other people on their future trips.

WRITTEN by TheSmokingTeam & MinD (any comments/critics are welcome)
TRANSLATION of INTRO from Italian language by KuLa

IS THERE A WAY TO SUPPORT THE FUTURE GROWTH OF THIS SITE? OF COURSE! Are you used to buy books and gifts of this genre for you and your friends over the internet? Have you ever heard of Amazon webshop? To support this site we invite you to take a stop at our gift page whenever you think on buying a gift,  we will keep an eye on new things to be added at least monthly. Thanks for your support, you made this site better.

Drugs should not be abused. Take care. Peace.