Lets face it, whether you're in Amsterdam or NYC, as the years go by laws and regulations related to drugs, alcohol, and assorted fun are getting tougher. In Amsterdam I'd emphasize the drug part.

Haven't you heard? Yes some important people in Dutch politics, including the mayor of Amsterdam, are pushing for a ban on magic mushrooms. Why? Because a French tourist jumped off a building some time ago and her family says she had taken mushrooms. This sparked alot of talk about how regulated mushrooms aren't in our fair city. Rather than talk about quality control or public education, the talk seems to be all about banning them. Yes... it is the story of the world we live in these days.. when in doubt.. ban the thing.

If you'd like a critical blog post to go along with the article linked above, I recommend one of Amsterdam's finest political bloggers Progressive Gold.

My advice to everyone out there who is plotting a visit to the Netherlands and thought they might legally purchase some 'shrooms along the way... hurry up and get over here. Before you know it.. the infamous smart shops will be long banned just like the segway. (banned from the streets of Amsterdam.. sadly)

As you will see, coffeeshops are found three to a street within the red light district, and plenty more abound once you start to go beyond it. Many of these places are grimy, dark and with terrible atmosphere, sometimes jammed with people of the variety you would not want to encounter (not the "Hey, where you from?" type) on your Amsterdam vacation, but rather locals and long term visitors who haven't seen the light of day in weeks.

Other coffeeshops, however, offer beautiful settings with very ornate, eleborate decorations. This must be testiment to the profit reaped in by the owners- it simply cannot be cheap to design a shop in such ways.

Two of the nicest if you only have a weekend are Abraxas and the Greenhouse. There are several Greenhouses, but I like best the larger one on Oudezijds Voorburgwal 191. It is a myriad of blue and green glass, warm colours and funky furniture. It looks like an underwater paradise.

Abraxas is open from 10am to 1am daily, and the largest one is the one I recommend, located at Jonge Roelensteeg 12-14 off of Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal (behind Dam Square). It is designed in a tropical style, with 2 floors and lots of lounging space. They also have board games like backgammon and chess!

These are two coffeeshops I would even take my mother. They are interesting for the non-smoker who wants to get a peek and understand coffeeshop life in Amsterdam, and of course coffee and juices are always on the menu if one does not want to partake in plethora of joints, hash brownies and cakes.

When I was first given access to this blog I was commanded to 'start posting at will... 1 or 2 a week'. You see I watch Smallville, and part of me believes that some alt. media buffs might, in fact, be super heroes... But with all these secret identities we carry around, I will probably never know for sure. One thing is certain, I will never take an extra class on top of the required Master's curriculum. Very, very bad idea, and thus, despite my will to carry forward with the dictates of trippist.com, I failed and kneel humbly before the scales.

However, the upside is when that was all finished. The moans and the groans of labor. I found myself without a crumb in the house unless I wanted to spoon sambal straight into my mouth. So I went to Barney's on the Haarlemmerstraat to celebrate the end of the moaning and get some breakfast, because not only are they a coffeeshop with an obnoxiously good (and expensive) weed, 'Willie Nelson', but it is a Brit-expat place and crazy multi-culti hangout. This means I can go there, speak loose lipped English and be a Yank.

The first thing you need to learn as an American (or at least a Midwesterner, [or maybe just me]) is not to be shy about plopping yourself down at any table, no matter how many people are there already. Just ask if the seat is free and sit. If you forget to wait for the person to move their bag, that is okay because the Dutch forget all the time. (jk!!).

Now, I had both the blessing and misfortune of occupying the only open seat and getting myself started on some weighty-a** literature before I found out the kitchen was closed. This was no big deal. All I had to do was go next door. The kitchen in the coffeeshop, it seems, is more for the wake-and-bakers, and given my nocturnal schedule some three weeks ago, I was lucky to be up by 15:00. It did not matter. I was committed to my seat, and my book. My hunger I could contain. Willie Nelson contained me. I did not go next door.

I ordered coffee and was engaged by a French farmer named Francois. I wish I were making that up, but I am glad I am not. He talked to me about Shamanism, and how according to Shamanism all the fingers connect at the palm. He turned that into a metaphor for how differently cultured people can get on and insisted that Morrocco and France were the same country. We talked about class hierarchy and class struggle, and how the French like to revolt -they are 'revolting'. He was very sincere. So sincere, in fact, that I forgot I was borrowing the book in which he wrote his contact information.

Then there was the loud bourgeois in the corner. Some VP transnational capitalist class character wearing expensive and non-descript black clothing. He is from Texas and is taking the year off, and I feel really horrible for the couple that sat at that table, because boy was he loud. Loud people annoy me in general, which is ironic since I am prone to rather boisterous behavior at times -but ANYWAY, if you have some subdued Freudian guilt complex about the fact you come to Amsterdam to be a phantom for a year you do not need to broadcast it across the room by making the same "we're smoking dope! we're going to hell!! ha ha ha" joke every 5-10 minutes for an entire hour.

The kitchen was closed, but I could still get a milkshake. I could not decide if I wanted banana or chocolate. I asked the cute server her advice and she offered to make me a banana-chocolate. And it was probably the tastiest thing I've consumed in months...though as Eddie Murphy rightly points out in "Raw", 'if a man is starving and you throw him a cracker, he'll think that's the best damn cracker he's ever had in his life'. In other words. It is a good shake, but I might be exaggerating. Objectivity in 'news' is bunk.

The bourgeois man leaves just as my milkshake comes, and then, some many pages later comes Josef, a travelling carpenter from Germany. He is half Kenyan and half German, and though my arrow points the other way, he was really hot -though it might have been those traditional carpenter's clothes he was wearing -some old guild thing. Ha ha. Guilds. Dungeons & Dragons... Anyway, we had a weird conversation. It is not that what we talked about was so weird, but more how he spoke to me in German and I to him in English. That went on for a lot longer than it should have... two hours and my head hurt.

I left. The grocery store was closed. And I still had not a crumb in the home... Good times ladies and gents, good times. Til' next time as I resume my trippist charge.

I just had my family come to visit Amsterdam. It was quite interesting having them here. I was, of course, very excited to see them after not having seen them in 3 months, but at the same time it was a bit overwhelming. Escorting around 4 people while still going to class and trying to keep up with other obligations was a little bit hard at times. Yet, all in all, it was wonderful to have them here with me for a few days.

During their stay here I got to look at Amsterdam from a whole different perspective. It is one thing to have a group of Americans your own age and quite another to be with your family. Walking through the red-light district with my family by my side was a little bit awkward. I explained that they shouldn't stare or look down upon the prostitutes. I feel that too many tourists do this and I feared that my family would be one of them. As far as I am concerned, you are on their turf, this is their profession and you should respect it. Thankfully, my family listened to request and we got along just fine.

I took my little brother and my older sister to a coffeeshop because they wanted to go and it was interesting seeing them in the setting. In the states, smoking is illegal, and smoking with family members, I think, is really uncommon. Yet, they were in Amsterdam and i was not opposed to taking them into a coffeeshop, so, I did. I took them to Abraxis, we smoked and it was fun.

I had to keep reminding myself throughout their stay that they were seeing Amsterdam for the first time. It was the first time during my trip here that I realized the fact that I have grown very accustomed to seeing the architecture, the cobblestone and the people of Amsterdam. At the same time it made me think that I shouldn't take the time I have left here for granted, because I will soon be on my way back to the midwest.

Amsterdam has been very good to me. This is the third week I am spending in the city and I could not have asked for a better time. I am an international student studying at the UvA. I am originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and I have a junior status at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. If you want a change of pace from the slightly monotonous college life(especially the college life of Champaign), then Amsterdam is the place for you. This city has something for everyone.

When I first chose the program many thought that it was because of Amsterdam's drug policy. If you think that it would be cool to study abroad here just for the drugs, then maybe you should rethink your choice. Yes you can smoke pot here. No, it should not be the sole reason you come here. If that is all you want to do there is a good chance you may miss many of the wonderful things this city has to offer. On the other hand, if you hate pot, then you may want to rethink coming here as well. I would say that many people in international programs will smoke while here, so just be aware of that. There is definately a smoking culture in Amsterdam, but from what I can tell, it is mostly that of tourists and international students, getting stoned.

Amsterdam has so many sights and attractions, yet it is small enough so as not to be overwhelming. Everyone speaks english here so getting around and asking questions is not a problem. Transportation is easy and affordable. Food is cheap and tasty if you go to the right places.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, go to Febo for cheap food. Okay, maybe you can go once to Febo, just to try it, but really I would stay away from that place. All the food is in tiny vending-machine slots. This means that you go up to a very large vending machine and receive your lunch from it, gross. If you want a light a quick lunch, just go to Albert Hein To-Go and get something freshly made for very cheap. You can then take your food to any park (Vondel Park seems to be most peoples favorite) and sit outside and eat. The city in September is prefect weather. It still isn't cold enough or rainy enough to stay indoors or even take the bus/tram places.

Get a bike. If you are going to be an international student here, biking is the easiest and most affordable way to get around. I am someone who has not ridden a bike since the 4th grade and even I am very much enjoying the biking here in Amsterdam. Figuring out the routes and places you can/can't ride bikes is a little confusing, but I am getting the hang of it one day at a time.

Join in on the International Student Network's (ISN) gatherings. The ISN hosts weekly events for international students, which is awesome because in Amsterdam you meet people from all over Europe and the UK. I now know people from Holland, England, France and Germany. It is so wonderful for an American student and easy as well because everyone speaks english. I'm trying hard to broaden my horizons here in Amsterdam and the ISN makes it easy for me to do that.

Right now I have to get work done for some of my classes, so I will have to blog later on.

-Bess Van Asselt

Amsterdam tolerates the use of soft drugs in small quantities, but selling drugs is illegal in Holland. Soft drugs, however, are allowed in certain controlled areas. CityRag visited Amsterdam. Check out their story Like a kid in a candy store!

A few other interesting sites are:
Coffeeshops info - info for first time visitors to Amsterdam
Cannabis College – they have a garden!
Coffeeshop Guide - site with coffeeshop rating system
Smokersguide

(Photos: Cityrag)