Utrecht- Marajuana?
 

Is pot legal in Utrecht? If it is, where's the best place to purchase it?

Just as it is not legal in the US, "pot" as you put it, is not legal anywhere in the Netherlands, (contrary to extrenely popular belief) including Amsterdam, ok? Now go post your silly questions on the pothead boards!

Me, I advise you to go to www.channels.nl for your inquiry....
Pot is not "legal" but the sale of it in small quantities is permitted by licensed shops. I imagine you will find one with no problem once you arrive there - just sniff the air (or ask a local).

Yes, by all means confine your questions here to the important things like "What should I wear?" and recipe exchanges...those other, non-white bread issues are far too taxing for people like Spygirl to deal with.

Sweden Finland and Norway are just as strict with their marijuana laws as the United States.

And perhaps if you weren't smoking so much of it you would have learned how to spell it!

Well, he got "pot" right...;)

Intrepid-since all you "contribute" is idiotic sniping, you're hardly one to point the finger at anyone else-you've quite obviously got no travel information to share, that's for sure!

Again-if you want "pothead" information on where to find illegal controlled substances go find yourself one of the many "pothead" posts-where you'll be amongst your own!

Good one-ny traveler!

Just go to the police station, where they offer steep discounts on confiscated goods.

Drink the beer -- it's excellent and better for you. ((b))

Actually, there are more health risks associated with the consumption of alcohol than using cannabis.

And it's low-cal, too!

Would that be Amstel, or Amstel Light, Budman? -or perhaps, a nice light Chimay from across the border?

Dear Its_Me,
Utrecht has coffeeshops selling marijuana, as do many towns in the Netherlands. There is a coffeeshop forum on www.channels.nl. You should confine your actual smoking of cannabis goods to the coffeeshops - walking down the street toking on a big doober is considered bad etiquette.

Yes pot is sold over the counter in several Utrecht coffeeshops, including two big emporia right in the center of town, overlooking the canal. Whether pot is 'legal' or not in Holland is pure semantics as the 'law' allows for sale of cannabis in such LICENSED Tax-Paying places though the law says it is illegal for the coffeeshop to bring it in the backdoor and illegal for you to take it out the front door (though possession of a small amount of cannabis has been decriminalize), but inside it's legal. I was in the Amsterdan Historical Museum last September and they had an exhibit saying that 'sale of cannabis was made LEGAL, that's their word, the word of a city of Amsterdam institution, in the 1990s and went on to use the backdoor, front door conundrum. Anyone who quibbles by saying it's not legal is just trying to obscure the fact that you can legally buy pot or hash in shops that have been licensed by the government to sell it. Whether it will remain legal as such depends on how far the current right-center government goes in plans to make coffeeshops off limits to non-Dutch residents, or even eliminate shops all together. Already, according to the exhibit in the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the government (the law i believe actually says that local governments can chose not to enforce the pot laws, so there is no national legalization) is refusing to grant any new licenses and when shops go out of business the number goes down. they point to Amsterdam once having over 1,000 such shops and the number is now down to about half of that. So the number of shops in each city can vary though i've never seen one without any. The most famous example of a Dutch coffeeshop was the one near the German border that, for German convenience had a drive-through service.
Enjoy.

Clearly you will be much better off:

Asking on a more sympathetic BB (i suggest Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree), a guidebook such as Let's Go or Rough Guides, in a local tavern or by keeping your eyes open once you arrive... any of those will get you better answers with less snooty attitude than most Fodorites are showing today!

Ditto to Suze's laments about judgmental folks who think it's a 'silly' post. I often read posts about someone esoterically raving about how some exoctic plate was preapred in some fine restaurant they've discovered and to me that is silly but i'd never express that in a rude comment as what's important to one person may be silly to another. There's been a ton more silly posts than yours, including some i've regretfully made in the heat of the moment. You have all the info you need from the few serious responses - it's a non-factor in finding and being able to legally, defactoally at least if not in the letter of the law, experience the unique Dutch coffeeshop experience.

Another good site for coffeeshop info is:

www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/

This is a travel forum, not a place to get information on how to perpetuate illegal acts involving controlled substances. How do you know the OP isn't a dealer or for that matter, a minor?

Fodors's should delete all posts requesting information on illegal substances.

The point is, (in case there are those who fail to see it) is that IT'S ILLEGAL. It's illegal in this country, in the Netherlands, and everywhere else as well.

This is a travel forum, not a place to get information on how to perpetuate illegal acts involving controlled substances. How do you know the OP isn't a dealer or for that matter, a minor? Would you want your 15yearold to be coming here and getting information that would contribute to the delinquency of a minor?

Fodors's should delete all posts requesting information on any type of illegal activity-would you point someone to where they could find some cocaine or heroin? judging from the responses here, probably!

Sure this is a travel forum and this IS a legitimate travel question. If it's so darn upsetting Spygirl, why do you even open the thread since clearly you have no helpful information to contribute?

Just skip this one as I would people asking about the most expensive place to eat or a 5* hotel... things I know nothing about.

Suze, dear, relax-go imbibe something that's not illegal.....

And if illegal is your criteria and you say it is illegal how can the government license this activity. Have you ever heard of a government licensing and taxing an illegal activity? This in itself makes it legal in my realm of reality. Get real -
Give me a break! Again - the words of the Amsterdam City Museum, owned by the city says these coffeeshops are legal - that's their word, which i take over yours. Why would the city museum say it was legal if it weren't. I do not condone illegal acts when traveling abroad and it seems that this act is not illegal in my understanding of the legal situation.

PLEASE!!!!!! Do we live in the dark ages or what? Have a Ball Its_Me! You will have no problem finding "pot", "dope", "mj" or even crack for that matter in Amsterdamn! Enjoy! Settle down spygirl....do you vacation in a convent?

by all means, PalQ, don't take my word for it-do a little research- - I'll give you a hint, even, it's called the OPIUM ACT under Dutch law.

Dear Its_Me,

When you get to Utrecht or Amsterdam, you will find out how old-hat this subject is to the Dutch and how matter of fact and low-key the smoking scene is.

If you look remotely underage, you will be asked to provide I.D.

Every time I've entered Schipol Airport, the immigration officer on duty(usually some blond proto-Dutch cutie) has winked and said "have fun" after stamping my passport. And that's coming from a government employee!

So have fun but for heavens sake, take it easy - that Nederwiet (Netherlands homegrown) is way stronger than what you are used to, no matter where you are from. Have a talk with the counterperson about various strains and their strengths - if you are a lightweight like me, you will appreciate being warned off the stronger products.

All of the above is 100% travel information - specific to the Netherlands, and on-topic to what the OP was asking. So there.

Travel information, I might add, that has to do with illegal activity. Per the Opium Act.

Ho-hum, time to "stop caring", per another active post.

Although Spygirl is providing a lot of entertainment here by being late for her rabies vaccination.

It's kinda cute.

Spygirl, if you can tear yourself away from watching "Reefer Madness" for the 4,386th time...

Most of the states have backed off from the hysterical legislation spawned by the Sullivan Act and its imitators. Many have <i>de facto</i> legalization in the form of reducing it to a misdemeanor (ticket and fine if the officer bothers), legalizing for medicinal purposes under appropriate protocols, or allowing individuals to possess small amounts (presumably that they have grown for their own consumption).

It is now the twenty-first century, and it is high time (heh, heh) that this stupid and counterproductive war on drugs is brought to an end.

Dovima dear:
Maybe you should crown yourself Cannibis Queen??? Just a thought! (smile)

And spygirl...who are you? Bitter Betty White?

Dear spygirl, While we were in Amsterdam
last Sept, I saw lot of coffee shops that sold marijuana and people smoking it inside the shops. We even have a picture of two policemen standing outside of a shop called NOON and you can see this guy smoking from a bong on
the other side of the window from them!
I don't think its illegal to buy or smoke marijuana in the Netherlands. I do feel that there are better things to do in Amsterdam then get high! you should have high lighted those things instead of preaching from a soapbox.

Does anybody know if I can legally purchase the services of a prostitute in Nevada ????