Did you know that cannabis is not a drug?

Cannabis is a plant Only when the plant is prepared and inhaled or eaten, it becomes a drug. Exactly the same happens to alcohol.

Cannabis is a plant and a member of the hemp family. Hemp has many other uses than getting people high. Hemp is used for making ropes, clothing and so on.

The cannabis has thin, pointed leaves. Originally it was found in Central Asia, but can now be found all over the world. In cold climates it needs greenhouses and if you grow it at home you can only do this in summer.

It's very easy to prepare the drug cannabis from the plant. You sinmply buy your small plants from a grow shop, nurture them and they will yiels a crop. Dry the bud, and this way you make grass or weed. It is very simple and because you can do it yourself it’s pure and not contaminated with other drugs.

If you press the sap into hard blocks of hash it makes smuggling easier. However, you must first heat it to soften it and make it pliable before you can smoke it. The disadvantage is that it can easily be contaminated with e.g heroin. This doesn't happen often, but it does sometimes, and is impossible with grass.

Someone who "takes drugs" is seen as a dangerous criminal: but we all take drugs, most of us every single day. Not many people call alcohol "a drug", but it is one, and probably even more dangerous than soft drugs. Caffeine is a drug and so is aspirin....

It goes without saying that Amsterdam has a museum showing to the use of cannabis: for pleasure, as a medicine or for making paper and textiles from the hemp plant. In a hothouse you can see how the plant grows.

I thoroughly enjoyed this museum as it explains in a clear and instructive way the various uses of hemp, hash, marihuana.

Open Monday to Saturday 11 am to 10 pm.
Sunday 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
Admission €3,75.