Living in the Netherlands, where we all smoke weed!
When I started living in Spain, I desperately looked for a job in television. When a local TV station asked me for a job interview, I was really excited. I didn’t speak a word of Spanish but I really thought the guy who I talked to on the phone, was interested in me and my skills.
Oh boy, I was so naive. You can’t work in a local (Catalan) TV station without knowing Spanish of course, and during the interview, the subject of the conversation changed from my experience into weed. Before I knew it, the guy asked me if I could help him get Dutch weed. When I came home and told my ex how the interview went, I suddenly realized how obsessed some people are with the Dutch and our open cannabis-policy while we couldn’t care less, since to smoke weed is not everything.
Most Dutch did smoke weed or Hasj ones
Yes, we have more or less all smoked weed or hasj once in our lives. But we were 18 (or 16 or 14 or whatever, we were young!)then and it felt – at least for me – as part of growing up. For me, to smoke weed was something like drinking alcohol. But now, many years later, the urge to smoke weed has vanished. Completely.
And to be honest: most of my friends don’t smoke weed or hasj anymore. We can, but we don’t. We did it but that’s it. To be honest, when you are my age (around 40) and you still smoke weed every week or every day. Then, I think you have a problem. To smoke weed is really not the same as smoking cigarettes for example. It does affect the way you think and behave and you should for example, really not drive after smoking. And it’s really worse for you than smoking cigarettes. Weed has 7 times more tar in it then a plain cigarette. It affects your short-term memory, and like any other drug, the more you smoke, the less you will get stoned. The effects of a joint aren’t the same the first time or the 100th time.
Mith: All Dutch People Carry Drugs
So, when you meet Dutch people in the Netherlands, don’t think they all smoke weed. We are not all carrying drugs with us! In the end, we do see weed or hasj as a drug so we are careful with it. And we smoke less or not at all anymore when we grow older. For me, the fact that it’s kind of legal in the Netherlands (the selling is legal but the growing part still isn’t so the whole legalization in NL is kind of weird and hard to explain) makes it I didn’t want to smoke it that much. And because we are informed well about the effects (we discussed drugs in high school) it also makes me cautious regarding all drugs. Weed is only a soft drug, but like a parent of a young drug addict once said: no one starts taking heroine without having started with weed. Keep this in mind when you start experimenting!
Tips And Tricks For Trying Weed Or Hasj
So when do want to try weed or hasj to know what it is, some tips and tricks:
– Make sure you smoke in a safe environment, so best at home with some good friends
– Make sure you know what’s inside the joint, so either make it yourself or get a rolled one at an official coffee shop
– Make sure you have enough sugar at home cause when you get a bad trip, eating sugar can decrease the effects
– Smoke it and don’t eat it: you can not regulate the effect, so once it’s in your blood, it can take hours to disappear (while smoking you can stop whenever you think you had enough)
– Do not mix alcohol with cannabis!
– Don’t smoke when you are in a bad mood (sad or depressed): it does not help, it will get worse
There are a few ‘coffeeshops’ in Arnhem. The policy is that you need to be at least 18 or older and you need to have your ID with you. Some have a room where you can actually smoke, but inside it’s usually forbidden to smoke. One gram weed or hasj is about 10 euro and one joint is about 3 euro. You can buy 5 grams as a maximum by the way.
List Of Coffeeshops / Weedshops In Arnhem
Upstairs
Beekstraat 12
6811 DV Arnhem
Omigo
Beekstraat 83
6811 DX Arnhem
Speak Easy Varkensstraat 3
6811 GM Arnhem
Joint Venture Munterstraat 4
6811 GP Arnhem
Happy Days
Oude Oeverstraat 6
6811 JX Arnhem
De Pinguin
Hommelseweg 5
6821 LA Arnhem
De Walm
Sonsbeeksingel 115
6822 BJ Arnhem
Lucky Luke
Sonsbeeksingel 91
6821 AC Arnhem
Uncle Sam
Driekoningenstraat 21a
6828 EL Arnhem
THC
Sonsbeeksingel 101
6822 BJ Arnhem
And here you can read some information in English about cannabis addiction here: www.jellinek.nl/english/cannabis/
TIP: Download the ‘Smokeout Coffeeshop finder’ app on your phone.
No need to go to Amsterdam for weed, Arnhem has weedshops too!
