Amsterdam peoples, Twin Cities’ very own Atmosphere is rocking a show tonight in your town! Catch the duo, Slug and Ant, as part of their When God Gives You Ugly Tour rolls forward.

Tele: (+31) 20 531 8181
Click here for more details on the show. Word.

Ever seen The Wackness?

If not, it’s a throwback movie about a 1994 teenager who deals pot, befriends his therapist, and lives life in New York City during his last summer before college.

I’ve got to give it to Revolver Entertainment (The Wackness’ distribution team), because they’ve come up with a promotion that Harold & Kumar would be seriously jealous of – a trip to Amsterdam and 1 gram of skunky buds.

The 1 gram isn’t exactly mind blowing, but if you get to Amsterdam, I’m sure you’ll be throwing down for some extra green time.

So how does it work?

Inside the first 1,000 copies of the DVD there is a single winning ticket – Willy Wonka style. There’s only one problem, this is for Revolver’s UK distribution arm only. No Yanks are getting in on the action.

Still, it’s a cool idea and some lucky SOB is going to get a quick flight out from London to the capitol of ganja.

[image courtesy Sony Pictures Classics]

Fresh from DrugWarRant.com, is an interesting look at the drug tourism industry in the Netherlands.

In response to several media reports last year which talked about the potential closure of Amsterdam’s pot shops, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union interviewed several Dutch mayors to take an earnest look at the situation.

There’s a lot of easy conclusions to draw, but it’s difficult after watching the 10-minute drug tourism documentary, to not see the drug war as a self-perpetuating cycle — linking marijuana to illegal activity because it is a contraband largely sold and distributed by organized crime.

An effort to eliminate the criminal element led to several mayors calling for the government to create a controlled system of distribution — however, it also led two mayors, (one interviewed in the video,) to close down coffee shops which sold marijuana altogether.

Dutch coffee shops, which been under increasing scrutiny by the government — are not in danger of being shut down, despite rumors to the contrary.

While the last 10 years have seen the number of dispensaries reduced by 50 percent, party officials say there won’t be a wide-scale closure of any sorts.

Partisan Dutch politics has three major parties; Social Democrats, Christian Democrats and Christian Unity. Social Democrats tend to be more lenient towards working with coffee shop owners with a more pragmatic attitude. Both Christian parties are opposed to the coffee shop system, and point to its “problems by association” as the real peril caused by the shops.

[img via CDog420 on flickr]

If you’ve been reading tFS this month, you’ve seen quite a few updates on the regression of Holland’s liberal institutions.

Attack of the Show has also done some fine reporting on the subject, except they’re stocked with a full production studio and a witty host.

That probably explains why Dan Bernath, of the Marijuana Policy Project, came on the show to talk about the evolution (and future) of the political landscape affecting Amsterdam’s infamous coffee shops and brothels.

Check out the video above, and if you like TV shows that are funny and have a tech twist, start watching AOTS.

Responding to complaints of a perceived growing drug problem in the area, Michel Marijnen, mayor of Roosendaal, recently tried to close his city’s four marijuana coffee shops.

The southern Dutch border city sees thousands of tourists a week from neighboring European countries, many of whom come for the express purpose of elicit drug use. Officials have said its starting to push local laws to a breaking point, where reform has to be considered.

The London Times online edition reports:

Marijnen is to address a summit for dozens of mayors from towns across the Netherlands today on how to tackle the problems surrounding coffee shops.

Some of the proposed changes are limiting purchase amounts in stores and other regulatory measures, but business owners and customers are worried it could be the beginning of the end and that in the end the regulations will only make the problem worse.

If they cut back to 2 grammes, then people will come back every day, while with 5 grammes they come every week. If they come back every day it will be a big problem for the town.

Sad news for the residents and frequenters of Amsterdam, and specifically bad for connoisseurs of the green leaf everywhere – Amsterdam will be closing 20% of its coffee shops. And no, not the Starbucks.

Mayor Job Cohen made the announcement before a national ‘weed summit’ was set to start. They aren’t being closed due to adjusted legal standing, but instead due to their proximity to schools and children. Any shop within 273 yards (250 meters) of a school has to shut its doors by 2011 unless a successful appeal gets them off the hook.

Just like America, the legality and use of marijuana in the Netherlands is very murky. Technically, it’s not legal, but in specific shops you can purchase up to 5 grams. Then again, growing is illegal, which makes sourcing the buds a challenge. You also have ‘pot tourism’ to worry about – citizens of neighboring countries traveling into the Dutch cities just to buy marijuana and leave.

Although this doesn’t take effect immediately, this new announcement places pot on an even shakier foundation in the city most known for its tolerance. Of course, we’ll keep you updated as appeals roll in and more debate starts on the topic.

This video is what happens when college students go to Amsterdam with full intentions to blaze the finest herb in Europe. It also goes without saying, that there’s no place quite like it.

This slideshow demonstrates only a few special characteristics that reinforce why this place is arguably ganja capital of the world.

Here are a few cool pics from Flickr user Streetwave. Nothing like a little Amsterdam Christmas to make the Holidays extra-special.

He also has some great street-level shots of the city and surrounding areas. Sometimes you can get lost from all the coffeeshop buzz and forget that Amsterdam is a beautiful city in it’s own right.

More photos after the jump.

Here’s a short (barely over a minute), 1st person video about life in Amsterdam. More to the point, how mind-numbingly easy it is to buy marijuana in Amsterdam.

Looks like for €25 Euro this dude’s getting 1.72 grams of weed. That breaks down to $33 for almost 2 grams. Not shabby considering the quality of buds over there.

Armed with this knowledge, check out the Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory and get the same experience yourself.

No longer do you need to feel intimidated about going to Amsterdam for your first time; this guide will be your source of confidence and the answer to a successful Euro trip.

Established in July of 1998, the Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory is exactly what it sounds like, but better. Continuously updated, this website breaks down most (if not all) coffeeshops in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Complete with pictures, phone numbers, customer reviews, and more – I can’t pinpoint anything important that’s been left out.

Quoted from the website:

This free and independent guide is the richest source of information on coffee shops because, not only does it have over 1000 pages of reviews, pictures and maps, it also has links to every coffeeshop’s own site and all other coffee shop guides.

Bottom line, as an amateur traveler, you will get a definitive understanding of what Amsterdam has to offer by visiting the best Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory on the web.

Now go buy a plane ticket and try some Sweet Tooth already. Go!!!

The most common mental image created when the word Amsterdam is mentioned relates to Red Light District mayhem and puffing on the most kind of all buds. While you can still do both of the above, it’s not quite as free spiritied and happy-go-lucky as one is lead to believe.

In the Netherlands, Christian conservatives have taken a government majority. Once in power, they decided the looseness that the Dutch were known for was going to be eradicated. Beginning in 2004, signs began to show that things were changing. The government did this by making new coffee shop licenses almost impossible to procure and when a shop closed, they wouldn’t renew any licenses involved with the establishment.

Coffee shop numbers in the Netherlands have gone from 1,500 nationwide to around 737 currently. At the rate coffee shops are disappearing (over 380 a year), it’ll take under 3 years to completely wipe these businesses off Dutch land. Ferry Hansen, owner of Get A Life coffee shop, had this to say:

You have to think three times about everything you do. It’s getting worse every year. The government is trying to control more and more. If you follow the law, they can’t say anything, but in the long run, they’ll probably get what they want.

Just when you think things are improving at home, there’s a set-back abroad. Hopefully, the Netherlands will get the exact same liberal swing that happened to America during it’s mid-term elections.

[via AlterNet]