"Research" at a Coffee Shop in Amsterdam

Nov. 15. 7:45AM. Half hour into the early morning train from Amsterdam to Bremen by way of Osnabruck. It's still dark out - evidently the sun takes its time coming up here this time of year. It's rainy and chilly. The train is a bit late. Not as late as is the norm in England or Italy, but not near as punctual as the "Vee VILL make dem runt on time"- German trains usually are.

Half way through a business trip, I've just left Amsterdam after yet another couple day "field research" trip - one of a number I've made to the City of All Delights over the last few years. I've had the opportunity to do research in many cities I've been to over the years, but probably none as in depth as the beautiful home of Van Gogh. It's a city full of canals and houseboats, bicycles, tulips and souvenir wooden shoes. Old men playing chess in the plaza with 2' tall Kings. Museums. Parks. Windmills. Prostitutes. Water taxis and trolleys.

And, of course, the ubiquitous "coffee shop."

Amsterdam faces a dilemma. As part of the European Union, its "way of life" has been brought into the spotlight of the EU Ethics Watchdogs. Prostitution, generally legal throughout Europe, is more open in Amsterdam than just about anywhere in the world including Bangkok. Amsterdam's Red Light district is world renowned and is probably the best organized of its type of "market" worldwide.

The "coffee shop" situation is one however, that lately seems to be bringing out the angst in the Amsterdammers. Most coffee shops in Amsterdam, and the rest of The Netherlands (from what I've been told, anyway) serve coffee, soft drinks and "other refreshments," but don't sell alcohol. More to the point, these other refreshments offered in coffee houses are marijuana and hashish. While it's not quite legal to sell these substances in Amsterdam, it's far from illegal. In the '70's, when Amsterdam first "came out," local proprietors could not just open shops to blatantly sell these products. "Pot Palace" or "The Hash House" would not cut it for establishments that were walking a very new fine line. So they presented themselves as purveyors of coffee, a nice catchall that worked better than a wink of the eye or signs advertising "Joint Rolling for Dummies." As time went by, some of the local establishments that did have alcohol licenses started selling these party goods as well. Eventually, the Dutch government made it a rule that new establishments can get a license to sell only one means of self destruction or the other - "weed" or alcohol. Those establishments that were already selling both types of products were allowed to continue to offer both.

Today, there are hundreds of coffee shops across Amsterdam, indeed across all of the Netherlands. Since joining the EU, however, the Dutch have been trying to make some concessions to the Central European Government to keep the pesky French and Germans from complaining about them too much - as if the French and Germans wouldn't have something else to complain about. As part of this attempted appeasement, the Dutch have mandated that in the next of couple years, shops that sell both must make a decision to sell one or the other, not both.

Which product should they sell? This and other questions are causing no small amount of stress among the coffee shop business owners. Will more "weed only" licenses become available causing their local competition to increase? Will the other countries in the EU begin to relax some of their Draconian laws concerning the possession and use of these substances? What about Canada and Switzerland both of whom have begun easing penalties for possessing small amounts?

I decided to really go out on a limb and actually enter one of these establishments to try and get a first-hand account of what "the man in the coffee shop" felt. The sacrifices we make and the chances we take for the sake of scientific research!

I chose a small, unassuming establishment called Tops, which sits almost unnoticed next to a canal just a few blocks from the Leidesplein and museum district. On a Sunday morning, around 11:30AM, I saunter into Tops, trying to look like I knew what I was doing. The aroma permeating the shop was not quite what I expected. The air was full of "Essence of Europe", an aroma that sometimes seems to permeate the air in Europe from Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east. Normally, this level of odiferous assault would be generated by a rowdy crowd returning from a long day of hooliganism at the local soccer championship. But, the sole generator of the eau natural that morning was Jochem, the bartender.

After trading perfunctory "Good Morning" and "Quiet morning, huh? - It's early yet."-type greetings, I sat down on a barstool and commenced to read the menu which was hanging over the bar, next to the suspended roll of papers available for "rolling your own." Column A on the menu was eight or nine types of hashish and Column B displayed an equal number of different kinds of pot - Moroccan, Afghan, Turkish, local Dutch - quite an array of choices. But the magic number however was 12 Euros. Everything was the same price. Quality was discerned by the number of grams that could be bought for that 12 Euros. Before The Netherlands switched to the Euro, their currency was the Dutch Guilder. In those days, I had discovered in previous research forays, the price was also 12 - Guilders instead of Euros. Today, a Euro buys someone in Holland about 2/3 as much a Guilder used to purchase. Comparatively, the price for the slightly less than illicit drugs has actually been greatly reduced since they changed their currency.

Noticing a large collection of liquors and the ever present Heineken taps behind the bar, I figured this to be the perfect place to do my latest research update. Jochem said that yes indeed over the next couple years coffee shops will have to make a decision to serve one product or the other. He said that many places would try to subdivide their locations and offer theoretically separate establishments that would allow you to bring refreshments from one side to the other. If not feasible, and an owner had to choose, it was pretty unanimous that the herbal means of commerce would prevail among most of the current establishments.

Jochem said that to give up the ability to sell drugs was not something most proprietors would do because it was much more lucrative than selling alcohol. So far as he knew, no new licenses were being issued to establishments that wanted to sell drugs. On the other hand, almost anyone can get a license to sell alcohol and the competition among alcohol-only establishments was overwhelming. Even with the lessening of penalties in Germany, France, England and other countries, which is construed as potential competition and could eventually keep visitors to Amsterdam in Dens of Iniquity in their own countries, owners feel that the weed business will remain strong.

One of the major positives for Jochem personally is that if more coffee shops open, it would enhance his employment opportunities, deodorant not withstanding. Jochem is a certified "drugged-person-out-of-control" first responder. He has been trained and certified in how to handle someone who has imbibed a bit too much of whatever their fancy was that day. He knows how to distinguish and respond to "hard drug" or "soft drug" usage, especially if it has been enhanced with alcohol. He can handle someone who is hallucinating from the mushrooms purchased at the local "vitamin" store. He knows how to heave someone off the floor after falling from their barstool - either backward or face forward. He can sober the person's friends up quickly so they can haul the unfortunate victim out of the bar as quickly as possible. He was trained in how to enforce last call and closing time. All coffee shops must have a trained and certified "expert" in house at all times. That makes him almost indispensable. It also makes it difficult to run out to grab a sandwich when you're by yourself and hung over as he was that morning.

Jochem is not worried about his future. He is guaranteed a job as long as the coffee shop exists in The Netherlands. I'm not sure what his upward career path or retirement package looks like, but I have a feeling he won't complain about his working conditions.

And, in response to the rest of the EU and Canada easing controls on controlled substances? Not a problem. "You Americans will always be behind Europe in such things. There will always be the Americans visiting."

And that comment sort of cleared the air.