Showing posts with label Amsterdam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amsterdam. Show all posts

May 11, 2009

Cannabis coffee shop


Under the drug policy of the Netherlands, cannabis products and other substances are tolerated and allowed inside licensed coffee shops, as well as cannabis and hashish paraphernelia like pipes, bongs, and rolling papers. Aside from selling cannabis products and paraphernelia, the majority of coffeeshops also serve drinks and food. Alcohol, however, is not allowed, nor are hard drugs. The idea of coffeeshops was introduced in the 1970s for the explicit purpose of keeping hard- and softdrugs separated.

In the Netherlands, 105 of the 443 municipalities have at least one coffeeshop. Many at the borders sell mostly to foreigners (mostly from Belgium, Germany and France), who can also buy marijuana in their own countries, but prefer the higher product quality of Dutch coffeeshops.

May 6, 2009

700,000 bicycles in Amsterdam



Amsterdam is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world and is a centre of bicycle culture. Most main streets have bike paths. Bike racks are ubiquitous throughout the city. There are about 700,000 bicycles in the city. Each year, about 80,000 of them are stolen and 25,000 end up in the canals.