Amsterdam is famous (or notorious) for two things...the red light district and it’s legalization of marijuana. While I have zero interest in what the red light district has to offer I definitely enjoy the fact that I won’t go to jail if I decide I want to smoke a joint occasionally. The attitude in Amsterdam, in general, is a very liberal one where self expression and creativity are nurtured and anything that encourages that is embraced. Thus the laid back attitude towards marijuana. Obviously the US has a completely opposite view on this subject. Ironically I probably know more Americans that smoke weed on a regular basis than I do Dutch. I’m sure this is because of the fact that to the Dutch it’s just...whatever.
This past Wednesday was 4.2o; America’s “smoke weed day”. J and I thought it would be a fun thing to celebrate so we went on a crawl to several different coffee shops around the city. At one of the coffee shops one of the girls working there was telling us how her American friend had told her about 420 earlier that day, to which her response was “I live in Amsterdam, everyday is weed smoking day.” The point is that marijuana just isn’t taboo here, and coffee shops (for the most part) are not dark seedy hangouts frequented by hippie burnouts. Quite to the contrary the patrons of coffee shops are usually...depending on where in the city you are...either tourists come to taste what Amsterdam is famous for or locals who would probably be in Starbucks if this was anywhere else in the world. The coffee shop isn’t just a place to buy and smoke weed, it’s also a place to meet up with friends, do some work on your laptop, or even...gasp...drink some coffee (But I recommend the hot chocolate...it’s beyond amazing here!).
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