Can Tourists still go to the coffee shops in Amsterdam?
You are getting two things muddled up There has been a smoking ban on smoking tobacco in public places in NL for several years. In Jul/2008 this was rolled out to catering establishments such as cafes, bars, and also coffeeshops (which is the term you mean by hash bars) This means (unless the place has an enclosed area away from staff working there) you can no longer smoke tobacco inside – similar to the US. So weed is still sold under the given conditions (actually it’s not “legal” per definition). It falls under the policy of ‘gedoogbeleid’ where sales are tolerated under given conditions: – no more than five grams per person may be sold in any one transaction; – no hard drugs may be sold; – drugs may not be advertised; – the coffee shop must not cause any nuisance; – no drugs may be sold to persons under the age of 18, nor may minors be admitted on the premises. So you will need ID (unless it is obviously clear you are above 18) and a passport (American or otherwise) is fine. By law
