5 Myths About Cannabis and Coffeeshops in the Netherlands

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5 Myths About Cannabis and Coffeeshops in the Netherlands
Article Date: 
Monday, September 5, 2016

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  •  If you grow no more than five plants, you will not be prosecuted — but if police discover your plants, they can (and usually will) take all of them.
  • The most recent coffeeshop count in the Netherlands was 582, with about a third of them, 187, located in Amsterdam. Tourists who only visit Amsterdam can easily get the impression that Dutch cities have a coffeeshop on every corner, but this is far from the truth.
  • The proportion of Dutch national residents, ages 15 to 64, who have consumed cannabis at least once in their life is 24.1 percent, the European average for the same group is 24.8 percent. In France, a country with a very repressive cannabis policy, the number is no less than 40.9 percent. And a recent poll found that 43 percent of American adults have tried cannabis at some point. 
  • Consuming in public: This might have been true 20 or 30 years ago, but times have changed. If you smoke a joint on a terrace of a bar or restaurant, the staff will most likely ask you to put it out. Many cities, including Amsterdam, have introduced zones where you can be fined if you consume cannabis in public.