Submitted by:
Maria Romano
San Diego, California
Amsterdam: beautiful row houses, Anne Frank, canals, Rijksmuseum, marijuana. You know you thought of it too. As much as Amsterdam has to offer in the way of high art and culture, the “drug tourism” associated with the famously liberal city is omnipresent. Cannabis use and sale is tolerated in the Netherlands as, unlike in most of Europe, drug use is treated as a public health issue instead of criminal problem. The Bulldog, founded by Henk de Vries in 1975, is the oldest coffee shop (meaning shop where marijuana products and coffee are sold) in Amsterdam and its founder remains (unsurprisingly) among the most vehement proponents of legalization in the Netherlands. The Bulldog Energy Coffee Shop is named for the energy drink line the company recently launched there and is attached to the Bulldog Hotel (on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, near the easy-to-find Damrak and Dam Square).
The Bulldog Energy Coffee Shop
The exterior features a beautiful and typical Amsterdam Renaissance facade. The interior is a haze of lights and colors, with the walls seemingly flowing together (even before you buy any marijuana). Techno, euro-house, and trance music is the norm, and other than the scary gnomes imprisoned behind glass in the walls, it’s a great place to sit and chill out after a long day of sightseeing. The cannabis selection is excellent and includes all the standards at Amsterdam prices: about €6-10 for a pure joint, €3 for hash joints, €50 for an eighth of an ounce (about 3.5 grams) of a mid-grade cannabis varietal (I recommend White Widow for beginners). The aforementioned eighth is useable immediately with the Bulldog merchandise sold alongside it (papers, lighters, grinders, etc). The shop also offers a wide variety of energy drinks, herbal teas, coffee concoctions, and “edibles” (baked goods made with butter or oil infused with THC).
The Bulldog Energy Coffee Shop - Inside
The Hotel next to it is also a great environment, if you can manage a reservation. It is clean, trendy and comfortable, with a fully-stocked pub, computers, TVs, pool tables, and chess boards. There is also a great free breakfast and free luggage storage, invaluable for the traveler on a budget. The location, again, couldn’t be better.
The Bulldog Energy Coffee Shop - No. 90's psychedelic facade
I found the staff at all the Bulldog locations to be courteous and helpful, despite how disoriented you may become after a visit to one of their 4 other coffee shop locations. Don’t miss the cool and colorful original location, just a few doors down on Oudezijds Voorburgwal at no. 90. And don’t forget to pick up some stroopwafels – amazing caramel wafer treats – at a stand or the grocery store on your way to Bulldog. Best snack ever. MMMM.
The Bulldog Energy Coffee Shop
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 90,
1012 GG Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 (0)20 625-9864?
The Bulldog Amsterdam – Official Website
Maria Romano is founder of the UCSD chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.
Photo credit: Images courtesy of Albert Chin
looking forward to taking a trip to Amsterdam nice little insight into Bulldog history TY