A coffeeshop in Amsterdam

Coffeeshop license

Some coffeeshops, especially in the Netherlands, are places where the sale of cannabis (marijuana) for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. An establishment advertising itself as a "coffeeshop" (as opposed to a café) in the Netherlands is likely to be primarily in the business of selling cannabis products and possibly other substances which are tolerated under the drug policy of the Netherlands. A Street Cafe, Jerusalem, Henry Fenn (1838- ): steel engraving in Picturesque Palestine, ca 1875 A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ... A Cannabis sativa plant Look up marijuana in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The drug policy of the Netherlands is based on 2 principles: Drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal matter A distinction between hard drugs and soft drugs exists It is a pragmatic policy. ...

In the Netherlands, the selling of cannabis is tolerated (Dutch: gedoogd) by officials, so the law is not enforced in establishments following these nationwide general rules:

• (a) no advertising
• (b) no hard drug sales on the premises
• (c) no sales to minors
• (d) no sales transactions exceeding a quantity threshold (5 grams)
• (e) no public disturbances

With the exception of advertising and alcohol, these restrictions are monitored and controlled very fiercely. An owner can have his business closed for three months for some offences, closed outright for others. There is a further on-going contradiction, as a coffee shop is allowed to sell, but not to buy, cannabis ("The frontdoor is open, but the backdoor is illegal"). There is as of January, 2006 proposed legislation to remedy this.

At least two coffee shops, De Dampkring and The Greenhouse Centrum, are also licensed for liquor, with the notion that the sale of cannabis is to happen at a different counter (though it may be smoked at the bar). Most coffee shops advertise, and the constraint is more moderating than outright prohibitive. In a charming gesture of discretion still technically required, many coffee shops keep the cannabis menu below the counter, even when the cannabis itself is in more-or-less plain view. Dutch coffee shops often fly red-yellow-green Ethiopian flags or other symbols of the Rastafari movement to indicate that they sell cannabis, as a consequence of the official ban on direct advertising. This aesthetic attracted many public artists who get commissions to create murals in the coffee shops and use the Rastafari and reggae related imagery to provoke public discussion about racial and multicultural issues. Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia Rasta, or the Rastafari movement, is a religion and philosophy that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former (and last) emperor of Ethiopia, as Jah (the Rasta name for God incarnate, from a shortened form of Jehovah found in Psalms 68:4 in the King... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Any shop selling soft drugs to minors or selling hard drugs at all is immediately closed. These institutions provide non-contaminated (and hence relatively safe) cannabis products, which may not be true of dealers acting illegally. Cannabis and any food products containing cannabis are generally clearly identified to prevent accidental consumption. Hard drugs are drugs that lead to physical addiction, opposed to soft drugs, such as marijuana and hashish, that are only psychologically addictive. ...

In the Netherlands, a koffiehuis resembles more so a coffee shop in the U.S., whilst a café is the equivalent of a bar. Tourists sit outside a bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand A Depression-era bar in Louisiana. ...

Each municipality has a coffee shop policy. For some this is a "zero policy", i.e., they do not allow any. Most of such municipalities are either controlled by strict Protestant parties, or are bordering Belgium and Germany and simply do not wish to receive "drug tourism" from those countries. A March 19, 2005 article in the Observer noted that the number of Dutch cannabis coffee shops had dropped from 1,500 to 750 over the previous five years, largely due to pressure from the conservative coalition government [1]. The "no-growth" policies of many Dutch cities affect new licensing. This policy slowly reduces the number of coffeeshops, since no one can open a new one after a closure. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Drug tourism is considered to be when one travels in order to procure narcotics. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In nearby Denmark it seems that the coffee shops in the Freetown Christiania will be abolished in 2005 or 2006, as part of the wider issues involved with Free Christiania. The unofficial flag of the Freetown Christiania Map of Freetown Christiana Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, is a partially self-governing neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Despite Canadian laws forbidding its non-medical use, some cities and local law enforcement have, at times, tolerated coffee shops which encourage customers to smoke cannabis. In Vancouver, for example, the New Amsterdam and Blunt Brothers were cafes on West Hastings Street with such pro-cannabis policies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Currently there is one coffee/head shop that has a bring your own policy and their own set of rules in Toronto's Kennsington Market. The cultivation and possession of cannabis is currently illegal in Canada, with exceptions only for medical usage. ... Vancouver (pronounced: ) is a city in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. ...