What is a coffeeshop?
Cannabis coffee shops - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A coffee shop in Amsterdam, selling coffee and cannabis. Some coffeeshops, especially in the Netherlands, are places where the sale of cannabis (marijuana) for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. An establishment advertising itself as a "coffeeshop" (as opposed to a café) in the Netherlands is likely to be primarily in the business of selling cannabis products and possibly other substances which are tolerated under the drug policy of the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, the selling of cannabis is tolerated (NL: gedoogd) by officials, so the law is not enforced in establishments following these nationwide general rules: (a) no advertising (b) no hard drug sales on the premises (c) no sales to minors (d) no sales transactions exceeding a quantity threshold (5 grams) (e) no public disturbances With the exception of advertising and alcohol, these restrictions are monitored and controlled very fiercely. An owner can have his business closed for three months for some offences, closed outright for others. There is a further on-going contradiction, as a coffee shop is allowed to sell, but not to buy, cannabis ("The frontdoor is open, but the backdoor is illegal").