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By mid-morning, the glassed-in smoke room is already filled with patrons busy inhaling and exhaling marijuana.
Some of the smokers say they arrive early each day and wait for the shop to open its doors at 10 a.m.
Lighting up a joint at the New Amsterdam Cafe is a routine that visitors and staff say has not changed with the arrest of marijuana activist Mark Emery last week.
The headquarters for the B.C. Marijuana Party, of which Mr. Emery is the leader, is next door to the cafe. There are three stores in the 300-block of West Hastings Street that sell marijuana paraphernalia or marijuana seeds, but the New Amsterdam Cafe is the only one on the street that allows patrons to smoke pot openly and drink coffee or eat a snack.
There is also a sign in the back of the restaurant that directs customers looking for seeds to go downstairs.
"We have hundreds of people coming in each day. Over the weekend we had around 500 people come in each afternoon," said Tasha, 20, a server at the cafe, who, like several others, spoke to The Globe and Mail under condition of partial anonymity.
She said that 70 per cent of the customers are tourists, and half of them are American.
"When they learn that they can smoke pot here, they think it's amazing that marijuana is treated so liberally in British Columbia."
The store is open seven days a week and operates nearly 12 hours each day. The New Amsterdam Cafe can seat about 50 people even though it is licensed for half that number, said staff.
The arrest of Mr. Emery has not slowed down business to the cafe, said Erica, 19, a server. She said most American tourists visit the shop for the novelty of being there.
"They come here to smoke freely and being able to speak openly about things like bongs and pipes," Erica said.
She said that because the United States and Canada are investigating marijuana seed growers and distributors, the business of selling seeds in the area will change.
"It will affect how people sell seeds and how people speak with each other about seeds," she added. She said that tourists are worried that anti-marijuana attitudes are making ground in Canada.
"They ask if they can say the words pot or bong in here, because they've been told somewhere to ask for water pipes or something else," Erica said. "They want to know how to buy pot and where to buy it."
She said that she never tells them where to buy marijuana because it is illegal to buy the substance in Canada. Jean-Joseph, 27, is an American from Beloit, Wis., who lives in Vancouver and regularly frequents the New Amsterdam Cafe.
He said that Marc Emery should not have been arrested for selling marijuana seeds.
"He is Canadian and he did it in Canada, so how the heck does U.S. law apply to him in Canada?" he said.
"Those laws should only apply to people buying those seeds
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2005, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: https://www.globeandmail.ca/
Some of the smokers say they arrive early each day and wait for the shop to open its doors at 10 a.m.
Lighting up a joint at the New Amsterdam Cafe is a routine that visitors and staff say has not changed with the arrest of marijuana activist Mark Emery last week.
The headquarters for the B.C. Marijuana Party, of which Mr. Emery is the leader, is next door to the cafe. There are three stores in the 300-block of West Hastings Street that sell marijuana paraphernalia or marijuana seeds, but the New Amsterdam Cafe is the only one on the street that allows patrons to smoke pot openly and drink coffee or eat a snack.
There is also a sign in the back of the restaurant that directs customers looking for seeds to go downstairs.
"We have hundreds of people coming in each day. Over the weekend we had around 500 people come in each afternoon," said Tasha, 20, a server at the cafe, who, like several others, spoke to The Globe and Mail under condition of partial anonymity.
She said that 70 per cent of the customers are tourists, and half of them are American.
"When they learn that they can smoke pot here, they think it's amazing that marijuana is treated so liberally in British Columbia."
The store is open seven days a week and operates nearly 12 hours each day. The New Amsterdam Cafe can seat about 50 people even though it is licensed for half that number, said staff.
The arrest of Mr. Emery has not slowed down business to the cafe, said Erica, 19, a server. She said most American tourists visit the shop for the novelty of being there.
"They come here to smoke freely and being able to speak openly about things like bongs and pipes," Erica said.
She said that because the United States and Canada are investigating marijuana seed growers and distributors, the business of selling seeds in the area will change.
"It will affect how people sell seeds and how people speak with each other about seeds," she added. She said that tourists are worried that anti-marijuana attitudes are making ground in Canada.
"They ask if they can say the words pot or bong in here, because they've been told somewhere to ask for water pipes or something else," Erica said. "They want to know how to buy pot and where to buy it."
She said that she never tells them where to buy marijuana because it is illegal to buy the substance in Canada. Jean-Joseph, 27, is an American from Beloit, Wis., who lives in Vancouver and regularly frequents the New Amsterdam Cafe.
He said that Marc Emery should not have been arrested for selling marijuana seeds.
"He is Canadian and he did it in Canada, so how the heck does U.S. law apply to him in Canada?" he said.
"Those laws should only apply to people buying those seeds
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2005, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: https://www.globeandmail.ca/