Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jan 2007
Source: View Magazine (Hamilton, CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 View Magazine
Contact:  http://www.viewmag.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2393
Author: Shain Shapiro

SMOKING IN THE CITY

Don't Want What You Already Got

Since I moved to Amsterdam six months ago, the first question that I 
get upon returning to visit from my North American friends revolve 
around Holland's so-called liberal drug enforcement laws.

"So what kind of pot have you smoked since you moved there?" and "How 
do you get anything done with all the pot available?" are two such 
popular questions. I have decided to write this article in response 
to said questions, because the ignorance and misinformation stemming 
from how North Americans see Holland requires clearing up. 
Thankfully, View has given me some space to help lift the veil that 
shrouds the truth about Amsterdam's pot culture, and what it is like 
to live there.

Amsterdam is a crazy place, and it's definitely not for everyone. It 
takes a unique urbanite to live there, one accustomed to perpetual 
rain, life on a bike with no hand brakes and the eccentricities that 
abound in Dutch culture, both positive and negative. Yes, the Dutch 
are seen as one of the most liberal countries in the world, as they 
have legalized small amounts of soft drugs, regulated prostitution, 
and legalized euthanasia and gay marriage. Yet, the Dutch system is 
highly conservative, as their immigration policies and regulation and 
taxation of prostitution showcases. However, this article was not 
meant to generalize Dutch culture, far from it. Instead, I want to 
call bullshit on every marijuana comment that has been hurled at me, 
as assuming I moved to Amsterdam for the grass has become a tiring insinuation.

When I was living in Hamilton, I was a recreational marijuana smoker. 
Finding the drug was not difficult, nor dangerous. Upon moving to 
Amsterdam, I decided to cut pot out of my life as an exercise in 
restraint, as my previous visits to the city were as a stoned 
tourist-where pot culture and coffee shops are a cash cow for the 
Dutch economy. However, once I was acclimatized to Dutch culture, I 
realized how many misconceptions there are when viewing the city as a 
tourist, and each time an uneducated frat boy from Virginia takes a 
bite of space cake, the myth that Amsterdam is a salacious hellhole 
of gratuitous drug use, sex and perversion strengthens. This myth, 
however enticing, is just that: a myth.

On the contrary, Amsterdam is a boring, almost grossly civilized 
city. Living there, smoking pot became stigmatic, as one only wants 
what they can' t have.

Amsterdamers do not smoke pot at the same ratio as tourists. Most of 
my Dutch friends do not smoke, and Holland has comparable drug use 
statistics among youth to Canada, America and the UK. Moreover, 
smoking outside is still illegal and highly disrespectful in 
Amsterdam, and as a result of outside influence, I have only smoked a 
few times since moving, mainly with North American friends who have 
come to visit, or fellow Canadians who live there. Marijuana is a 
minor cultural contributor to locals, as boozing is much more 
popular. Pot remains an elixir for tourists to get off on, rather 
than locals. Therefore, living in Amsterdam has nothing to do with 
pot, and Dutch culture, consequentially, became the conduit for 
helping to curb my habit. While smoking a joint was much more of an 
event in Canada, at home in Amsterdam, the desire to get high is much 
less potent. Sure, pot is as widely available at Tim Hortons and 
biking to school or work, I pass by dozens of coffee shops, each one 
specializing in decor, blend of coffee, board game of choice or 
drug-filled baked good. Yet, since moving, I have visited two coffee 
shops, each twice, even though there are over 100 in the city centre 
alone. I do not stroll in for a double double every time I pass a 
Tim's either, and my desire for crappy coffee is more potent than the 
Dutch's predilection to tune in, turn on and drop out. So there you 
have it, a simplistic, explanation that hopefully clears the 
misconception. Quitting was simple, because the temptation never 
emerged and without the cultural context, I would have ignorantly presumed.

I hope I have cleared up a few misconceptions in relation to 
Amsterdam and its marijuana culture. Regardless, if you are in town, 
feel free to call me up if you have a brownie left over from your 
trip to the Van Gogh Museum. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake