Posted on: december 1, 2024
Are you going to visit Amsterdam and are you planning to use drugs? Then this article with 10 tips for using drugs in AmsterdamĀ is a good readĀ for you!
This piece contains useful tips for those who would like to experience soft or hard drugs in Amsterdam. The Dutch Opium Act makes a distinction between hard drugs and soft drugs by means of two lists. The sale of soft drugs in coffeeshops (cannabis stores) is tolerated in the Netherlands under strict conditions.
Hard drugs are on List I of the Dutch Opium Act. These are more harmful to health than soft drugs. Examples are heroin, cocaine/ coke, speed/ amphetamine, XTC and GHB.
Soft drugs are on List II of the Dutch Opium Act. The risks of these drugs are less than with the hard drugs on List I. Examples are cannabis products (hash and weed) and sleeping aids. Sedatives such as Valium and Seresta are also on this list.
There are a lot misunderstandings when it comes to drugs in the Netherlands. Before we get into that, we’d like to tell you how the Dutch think aboutĀ soft drugs in general.
Most Dutch do not consider cannabis dangerous. And big majority of the Dutch do not have a problem with the coffeeshops orĀ people who occasionally use soft drugs (weed or hash). Although it must be said that the use of alcohol is way more accepted in the Netherlands than cannabis.
Magic Truffles stored in a fridge of a smart shop.
Did you know thatĀ only 7% of the Dutch population uses cannabis?
Usage by Dutch populationĀ | 7,0% |
Usage by Dutch youth | 7,8% |
Number of hospitalisations per year | 98 (main diagnosis)Ā |
Number of selling points | 673 |
Usage by Dutch populationĀ | 78% |
Usage by Dutch youth | 43% |
Number of hospitalisations per year | 6.473 (main diagnosis) |
Number of selling points | 70.000 |
Source:Ā National Drug MonitorĀ
The Bulldog is one of the first cannabis stores (aka coffeeshops) in the world.
The Netherlands has a reputation for being a country that likes to do business and for having a liberal society. These are just two reasons why we allow cannabisĀ in our country. Tolerating soft drugsĀ doesn’t mean that everyone uses it. In fact, most citizens of the Netherlands don’t even use cannabis.
DuringĀ our tours in the Red Light District our local guides will tell youĀ much more about drugs in the Netherlands. We’ll share all the things you didn’t know about this cannabis, ‘coffeeshops, legal magic truffels, smartshops and the Dutch drug laws.
For example: Wist je dat that producing cannabis for commercial purposes in the Netherlands is totally illegal? Here, there is a so called “gedoogbeleid”. Here more about this during our walking tours in Amsterdam Red Light District.
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Did you know that the revenue of the illegal and legalĀ drug industry in the Netherlands is included into the DutchĀ Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? Since 25 June 2014, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics includes the trade of illegal activities in the Dutch GDP.
A few examples of these illegale activities: XTC, cocaine, heroin, speed, smuggling, etc. The trade in these illegal activities are estimated by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics and based onĀ police sources.
The graph below shows the trade in legal and illegal activities. According to the Bureau of Statistics the trade in cannabis is 1.04 billion euro.
Source: NRC Q – based on numbers of the Dutch Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
De GDP of the Netherlands in 2010 was 586.7 billion euros, but after including the trade of these substances the Dutch GDPĀ increases with 44.7 billion euros. So the Netherlands has become 7.5 % ‘richer’.
A “cafe” means “pub” throughout the Netherlands. A “coffeeshop” is where one buys cannabis. While marijuana is not technically legal in the Netherlands, the possession and purchase of small amounts (<5 gram) of “soft drugs”(ie marijuana, hashish, space cakes and mushroom-based truffles) is allowed/tolerated and users won’t be prosecuted for smoking or carrying this amount. This means that coffeeshops are actually conducting an illegal business – but this is tolerated to a certain extent.
The Dutch government has let individual municipalities decide for themselves whether to enforce the national weed pass.Ā Therefor there are almost no municipalities which have implemented this pass, only a few near the border at Germany and Belgium.
Magic Truffles on sale in what they call aĀ “smart shop” in the Red Light District.
Even though Amsterdam might be the global center for hash and weed usage, inside the city borders hardly any large plantations have been busted. So where does the hash and weed sold in Amsterdam come from?
For hash, the separated resin of a cannabis plant, the sources are evident. Large shipments often in the 1000ās of kiloās come predominately from Morocco. Hash is also produced in Afghanistan and Lebanon.
There are also many idealists who grow because of their conviction or love of the product, preferably biological and without insecticides. Yet these idealists on their own produce far too little to satisfy Amsterdamās huge weed demand.
To supply all those weed smoking people in Amsterdam and the legions of tourists, coffeeshops have to rely on a wide network of suppliers. The police of Amsterdam clear away roughly one āwiethokā (small indoor plantation) a day containing between 150 and 700 cannabis plants. Amsterdam is too densely populated to start up a large indoor plantation without being noticed.
Itās almost impossible to make a general fact-based statement about weed production in the Netherlands. Estimates range between 29 and 130 tons of weed production per year. Every year around 5000 to 6000 illegal weed plantations are busted by the Dutch police.
1 billion kilowatt-hour of energy gets stolen every year in the Netherlands, almost exclusively for illegal weed plantations. On this supply if energy supply a total of 30.000 plantations can operate 24/7. This is about same amount of energy that is needed for the whole city of The Hague. An average Dutch household uses approximately 3.000 kilowatt-hour of energy.
Coffeeshop Grey Area is known as one of the best coffeeshops in Amsterdam.
According to experts, Amsterdam coffeeshop owners are not eager to buy from sellers that come out of the south of Holland (Brabant, Limburg). They donāt trust the growers and dealers from the south. The weed has often been of dubious quality. There’s hardly any weed traffic between the southern provinces and the coffeeshops in Amsterdam. The owners of the coffeeshops usually donāt want anything to do with the (often violent) weed crime scene from the south. The market over there is divided between motorcycle gangs, Moroccan, Dutch and Turkish criminal organisations.
Dutch source:Ā https://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/waar-komt-alle-wiet-in-amsterdamse-coffeeshops-vandaan~a4510148/Ā
So, what about hard drugs? Drugs like XTC, cocaine, MDMA, speedĀ and LSD – which are all illegal in the Netherlands. We assume that those who’d like to use hard drugs in Amsterdam, have already experienced some drugs before.Ā Most of the drug incidents in Amsterdam happen to those who know too littleĀ aboutĀ using drugs and often it’s the hard drugs that causes damage to those people. Information is king.
An anti-street dealer campaign in Amsterdam during Amsterdam Dance Event.
Ignore Street Dealers in Amsterdam
Ignore street dealers in Amsterdam. They sell fake drugs!
Smart shops – which offer organic uppers and natural hallucinogens – have long been known for selling magic mushrooms. But in the year 2000, the Dutch government banned them. Nearly 200 varieties of fungus then went on the forbidden substances list – though conspicuously missing was the magic truffle.
AĀ smart shop is a place where you can purchase magic mushrooms (a.k.a. “magic truffles”). Staff will advise you on the nuances of dosages and possible effects. Listen to them – their advice will help you with a good and safe trip.
Magic truffles are legal in Amsterdam and in the rest of Holland.Ā In smart shops they are named “magic truffles”. Scientifically speaking truffles are not mushrooms and therefor they do not fall within the reach of the Opium Act. Magic truffles are allowed to be produced, purchased, sold and consumed in the Netherlands. In most English speaking countries magic truffles are called magic mushrooms.
Although magic truffels are legal, they are definitely not popular among the Dutch. The magic truffels are mostly being sold to tourists. Don’t forget to check out this more in-depth magic truffles FAQ article for more tips for using drugs in Amsterdam.
DrugsĀ are notĀ bad per se, you just gotta be informed on how to take them. The staff in (cannabis)Ā coffeeshops en smart shops are more than willing to inform you (on how to use drugs in Amsterdam).
Join our informative Amsterdam Drugs Tour to learn more about legal and illegal drugs in the Netherlands. This tour is loaded up with tips for using drugs in Amsterdam and gives you an informative perspective on Amsterdam and drug use.
This is a smartĀ shop in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. It sells magic mushrooms/truffles.Ā
There are (fake) street dealers in Amsterdam’s city centre. Street dealers can be find on Leidse Square, Rembrandt Square, Waterloo Square and in the Red Light District. If they see that you’re not interested in drugs, they’ll ignore you.
In the Red Light District, street dealers can sometimes be found on the Warmoesstraat, Stoofsteeg, Lange Niezel & Oudezijds AchterburgwalĀ in Amsterdam.
These street dealers sell fake stuff most of the time and can get aggressive. Do not buy from streetĀ dealers. They rip tourists off.
In a period of 15 months a total of 1208 street dealers were arrested for the selling of fake drugs in Amsterdam. All together they were responsible for 4857 incidents, 3051 of which were related to the sale of fake drugs. That’s 62%.
Most of the victims are men between the age of 20 and 40 from Germany and Great Britain. These tourists come to Amsterdam for the weekend and a pill or snort are part of the Amsterdam experience for them. But all tooĀ often they don’t get what they bargained for. The XTC pill turns out to be an aspirin or a contraceptive pill, the gram of cocaine: baking powder.Ā Source: Jellinek
The municipality of Amsterdam, police and public prosecutor want to put a stop to the nuisance of fake drug dealers but that may be hard to do. StrongerĀ punishments raiseĀ legal objections.
Current Dutch drug laws do not apply to the sale of fake drugs and the public prosecutor believes that a separate law to fight fake drugs isn’t feasible. Fake drug dealers can only be punished with fines totalling a couple 100Ā euros. The worst cases can get a maximum sentence of 6 weeks.
Knew in advance that they were going to use softdrugs, like cannabis. | 54%Ā |
Knew in advance that they were going to use just harddrugs. | 1% |
Knew in advance that they were going to use soft- and harddrugs. | 15% |
Decided in Amsterdam that they were going to use drugs. | 30% |
Source: Jellinek
One of the tips for using drugs in Amsterdam written on the streets.
TIP:Ā DO NOT buy drugs on the streets from dealers. They sell rubbish and can get very aggressive!
If you’re really keen on buying XTC, cocaine, MDMA or any other illegal drug, we’d advice you to buy it in a club from someone who’s really having a blast. Usually it’s not that difficult to spot someone who has a bit more fun and energy than the rest of the crowd. Ask that person what he’s or she’s having and if there is anything for sale.
Do not buy drugs from street dealers! Especially not on Leidse Square, the Red Light District, Museum Square or aroundĀ Rembrandt Square – in other words: the areas with the most tourists.
These street dealers sell fake stuff or even worse: White heroin as cocaine.Ā This happened in the end of 2014; a few tourists bought fake cocaineĀ from a street dealer and passed away because it was actually white heroine.
EenĀ drug-warning from the City of Amsterdam in November 2014.
It would be great for people to have the opportunity to get their drugs tested in everyĀ bar, club or festival. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in Amsterdam yet. Hopefully the Dutch government will allow this in the near future. As we all know, drugs are being used in pretty much every club in the world. Lot of locals are using the services of that drug test lab. Or they go online to search for a drug report.
In Amsterdam, there are several places where you actually can get your hard drugs tested legally. Although XTC, MDMA,Ā cocaine are illegal in the Netherlands, they are all still very popular here. There are many ways to get itĀ tested in a way that is totally legal in the Netherlands. This is what most locals do before using it.
We interviewed August de Loor who was the founder of Amsterdam’s Drug Consultancy Bureau. We wanted to know more about those legal drug tests in Amsterdam because it’s a good way to reduce risks among drug users.
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i asked many Dutch people and none say they do drugs. Its mostly tourists. LOL.
I’m actually surprised it’s as high (pardon the pun) as 7%
I wonder if the USA will ever give up on the war on drugs and just give in? I wonder if it would really make a difference for the worse if it was legalized. I know it is easy to say yes, but would it?
I agree with amsterdam and there drug laws. The free heroin clinics for addicts should be practiced in the u.s.a.. I’m sure it would reduce crime rate tremendously. They should have same type of clinics for meth users also, where it is monitored and controlled, since it’s used mostly for focus and productivity in my observation and experience. And at the same time people are addicted enough they can not function without it.
The tips is very fascinating
As a UK resident and a habitual cocaine user, I hope that one day the UK will offer illicit drug facilities. I think they would find that most new users just need someone to talk to and a bit of direction. The amount of money they would save from this kind of program, not to mention the young people who would take a completely different path.
The war on drugs is not working. A more direct aproach of love and care would save the UK billions. It’s frightening to think what the US would accomplish.
We need to be progressive, preventative measures have failed everyone. Myself included.
Well put Georgie. Drug addiction, just like alcohol or cigarette addiction is not a law enforcement issue, it’s a health issue. (para quoting the genius of Russell Brand here a bit)
I had a ball of time great experience. Nothing too drastic mind you….Great place to unwind.
if some one wants good stuff in amsterdam ring me then 0031687590107
Heading to amsterdam in November you still got some good stuff?
Let me know going beginning Feb lol.
Going to be there in August, any chance you may be able to help?
Hi what can you get can u get l s d
Who can help the Netherlands to buy a lot of ecstasy? PM me [email protected]
Thanks for this piece! Definitely useful info. So good that you can get “illegal” drugs tested legally at those official organizations, like Jellinek. Thumbs up.
Where and how can i buy in amsterdam exstasy mdma Lsd ? ?
Hi will be in Amsterdam in November.
Anyone know where I can buy some speed/amp/coc? Will really appreciate it
Hi I am planning for a holiday to Amsterdam in March 7th 2019 I m single needs a friendly guy to accompany .