Overview
Local Transportation
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Food
Coffeeshops And Smartshops
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Gay and Lesbian Amsterdam
Amsterdam’s coffee shops aren’t really there to sell coffee. Places calling themselves coffee shops sell hashish, marijuana, and “space” goodies. As a general rule, the farther you travel from the touristed spots, the better value and higher quality the establishments you’ll find. Look for the green-and-white BCD sticker that certifies a shop’s credibility. When you move from one coffee shop to another, it is obligatory to buy a drink in the next shop, even if you already have weed. While it’s all right to smoke on the outdoor patio of a coffee shop, don’t go walking down the street smoking a joint: it’s simply not done. Not only is this an easy way for pickpockets and con artists to pick out a tourist, but locals also consider it highly offensive.
Coffee-shop menus have more variety than most might assume. Hashish comes in three varieties: blonde (Moroccan), black (Indian), and Dutch (Ice-o-Lator), all of which can cost €4-35 per gram. Typically, cost is proportional to quality and strength. Black hash hits harder than blonde, and Ice-o-Lator can send even a seasoned smoker off his or her head. What separates hash from weed is that, while weed is the flower of the marijuana plant, hash is the extracted resin crystals—giving a different kind of high.
Marijuana is a dried, cured flower whose Dutch variety is incredibly strong. Take it easy so you don’t pass out. The Dutch tend to mix tobacco with their pot as well, so joints are harsher on your lungs and throat if you’re not a cigarette smoker. Pre-rolled joints are always rolled with tobacco; most coffee shops also offer pure joints at up to twice the cost. A coffee shop’s staff is accustomed to explaining the different kinds of pot on the menu to tourists. It is recommended that you buy only a gram at a time. Most places will supply rolling papers and filter tips—Europeans smoke only joints. When pipes or bongs are provided, they are usually for tourists. Another popular way of getting high in Amsterdam is to use a vaporizer. These devices heat up cannabis products until the hallucinogenic substances like THC become gaseous, extracting more out of the product than regular burning via cigarettes. Beware that vaporizers are very strong, and those with copper piping may release nasty (and potentially carcinogenic ) copper particles into your body.
Space cakes , brownies, and all members of the baked-goods family are made with hash or weed, but the drugs take longer to affect a person, producing a “body stone” that can take up to two hours or longer to start. Start off with half a serving and see how you feel after an hour or two. It’s always easier to eat more later than to wait out a higher dose than you can handle. The amount of pot or hash in baked goods cannot be standardized, and it is impossible to know what grade of drugs is in them. This makes ingesting this form of cannabis much more dangerous than smoking, with which you can monitor your intake more closely. Centrum coffeeshops are notorious for higher prices and poor quality product. Avoid the super touristy and commercialized places in Amsterdam and opt for smaller, more cozy shops.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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