Maastricht, Netherlands
Last updated on October 4th, 2025 at 05:17 am
Cannabis Travel Guide
Tolerance for smokers
Table of Contents
Legal status:
In the Netherlands, drug use is not a crime. "Acquiring drugs for personal use is not a crime. Possession, while technically a crime, is largely tolerated by the courts and the public."
Dutch law distinguishes between hard and soft drugs. By decriminalizing marijuana and hashish and allowing their sale in strictly regulated coffee shops, the government hopes to promote the health and safety of smokers while discouraging them from moving on to harder drugs.
Criminal prosecution
2007 marked a turning point for the worse: "Coffee shops with marijuana sales licenses in the southern Dutch city of Maastricht will begin taking customers' fingerprints and scanning their IDs starting this summer," a spokesperson for the cafes said on Wednesday. The measures are intended to ensure compliance with the famous Dutch policy of tolerance, which could lead to the closure of cafes, said Marc Josemans, chairman of the Maastricht Cafes Union.
“We are not doing this voluntarily, but with great pain in our hearts,” Josemans said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday. He said businesses in Rotterdam and several Dutch border towns were considering following suit.
“We are very afraid of losing customers as a result, and to be honest, we are even a little ashamed of it, but the city of Maastricht imposes such harsh penalties that we have no other choice,” he said.
The fingerprints would be linked to a digital photo and a scan of the customers' identification documents – all personal data would be deleted except for the date of birth – and then stored in the store's computer system.
If a customer wants to buy marijuana, he must prove that he is of legal age and has not already reached the 5-gram limit in the same store on the same day.
“We do not share this information with third parties, and we are neither connected to each other nor to the internet,” Josemans said.
He said the stores already had video surveillance cameras and cooperated with the police in criminal investigations, but the stored fingerprints were of too low quality for the police.
“Maastricht – the symbol of a Europe without borders – has banned drug users from visiting the city and granted police sweeping powers to turn away foreigners on the slightest suspicion of drug buying,” Reuters reported. “No evidence is required.”
Where can you buy marijuana in Maastricht?
Coffeeshops are the safest and most acceptable place to buy marijuana – the quality is guaranteed and the prices are competitive.
Comments
I met this man while visiting a shopping mall. He helped me buy natural cannabis, which made my vacation an unforgettable experience. Since then, I contact him before every vacation at securedgreen28@gmail.com. I highly recommend him for great cannabis.
Maastricht marijuana prices:
Prices are comparable to those in Amsterdam. Marijuana starts at the equivalent of about four dollars per gram, and hashish at six dollars per gram. As in Amsterdam, cannabis culture is firmly established in Maastricht.
Country: Netherlands
City history:
Maastricht, the oldest city in the Netherlands, differs from Amsterdam in many ways.
“Maastricht is as diametrically opposed to its northern cousin as two cities within a single European country can be,” said a visitor named Kifwebe. Where Amsterdam is dirty and bustling, Maastricht is impeccably clean and quiet. Amsterdam is the center of Dutch heritage, yet Maastricht, situated in a strip of land between Belgium and Germany, reflects strong
It reflects French and German influences. Amsterdam has 725.000 inhabitants, about 600.000 more than Maastricht.
However, there is one important commonality: "coffeeshops" where top-shelf marijuana and hashish are bought and openly smoked. "[Coffeeshops] exist solely to provide people with a safe and clean place where they can legally buy small amounts of hashish and marijuana and smoke it on the premises or take it home," said an anonymous traveler who sampled the Maastricht wares. "This is hashish and crazy weed of extremely high quality: pollen, double pollen, Moroccan hashish,
Gold or Red Lebanese."
In Maastricht, city regulations prohibit the sale of alcohol in coffee shops; only marijuana is allowed.
Prices are comparable to those in Amsterdam: marijuana starts at around four dollars per gram, hashish at six dollars per gram. As in Amsterdam, cannabis culture is firmly established in Maastricht.
“The twelve or so teenagers who were there [in the coffee shop] were exactly that – teenagers, 15 or 16 years old,” said the anonymous traveler. “Boys and girls were smoking good weed in bongs and chillums provided by the shop, drinking sodas – no alcohol – and watching TV.” The best time of year to visit Maastricht is when the whole city is celebrating exuberantly during the annual carnival.
“First of all, you should know that people in the southern Netherlands have partying in their blood,” said an American tourist. “If you are a sociable person and want to experience the Dutch party for four days straight, I would recommend visiting the city during Carnival in February.”
After smoking marijuana, visitors can also explore the ten kilometers of tunnels in the west of the city or simply relax in the popular Vogelstruys pub at Vrijthof.
Zubricus, an American, enjoyed the amenities of Maastricht's city center.
“There’s really nothing better than being greeted with ‘Have a good evening, sir’ by the concierge when you cross the street into Café That’s It and get high,” he said. “In Maastricht, Amsterdam rules apply; every café I’ve been to serves beer and weed.”
He also recommended Take It Easy Café and Café Easy for their smoking experience and friendly staff.
The Netherlands is perhaps the most welcoming destination in the world for soft drug users. “In the Netherlands, drug use is not a crime,” according to NORML, a marijuana advocacy group. “Acquiring drugs for personal use is not a crime.” While possession is technically a crime, it is largely tolerated by the courts and the public.
“It’s quite accepted in our culture,” said Dutch newspaper journalist Kurt Van Es. “If there is resistance, it’s directed against hard drugs, excessive noise, or other criminal activities.” Dutch law distinguishes between hard and soft drugs. By decriminalizing marijuana and hashish and allowing their sale in strictly regulated coffee shops, the government hopes to promote the health and safety of smokers while discouraging them from moving on to harder drugs.
“We have broken the link between soft and hard drugs,” said Ton Cramer of the Dutch Ministry of Health. “The vast majority of people who experiment with cannabis do not turn to harder drugs.” Maastricht has the same drug laws and coffeeshop culture as Amsterdam, but in the university city, located a three-hour drive south, authorities are not as tolerant of foreign drug tourists. Due to its proximity to Belgium and Germany, Maastricht experiences an estimated daily influx of 600 to 1.000 foreigners buying drugs. “We felt besieged,” said Deputy Mayor Theo Bovens.
Many of them are hard drug users looking for cheap heroin. In response, authorities have taken drastic measures that also affect soft drug users. "Maastricht – the symbol of a Europe without borders – has banned drug users from visiting and granted police sweeping powers to deport foreigners on the slightest suspicion of drug buying," Reuters reported. "No evidence is required."