The background on getting baked

Just to set the record straight - marijuana isn’t actually 100% legal in the Netherlands. You can use it personally, coffee shops can sell small amounts of it, but growing fields of the stuff will get you in serious trouble. Since 1976, Dutch drug policy has distinguished between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ drugs, with marijuana falling into the latter category. That means Dutch authorities have chosen to consider cannabis use to be gedoogd or tolerated and won’t prosecute anyone in possession of less than five grams of marijuana for personal use.

However, things may be changing. In the past few years, the Dutch have reconsidered their relaxed stance on weed and there are proposals to reclassify cannabis with more than 15% THC (the substance that makes it intoxicating) as one of the ‘hard drugs’ that comes with stiff penalties. Mathijs de Croon works in the prevention department of Novadic-Kentron, a local addiction center, and says it’s a difference that foreign students should know about. “Since we made the distinction between hard and soft drugs, the amount of THC in Dutch cannabis has grown from an average 6% to about 17%. Our Dutch nederwiet is probably a lot stronger than what they might be used to from their home countries.

Accepted or Social Stigma?

Although marijuana use is decriminalized in the Netherlands, that doesn’t translate to wide-spread social acceptance of the drug. All three students interviewed for this article asked to remain anonymous for the same reason - they fear that it’ll affect either their current jobs or their future professional lives. Sondh* (26) is from India and getting his master’s degree in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He explains why he wants his identity to remain a secret: “I was talking to friends about getting a job and the subject of weed came into it. They said it is tolerated in Netherlands but as far as your professional life goes, it can be a concern. If the people in the company know about it, it might give a bad impression.”

However, despite the social stigma, all three students admire Dutch pragmatism and openness about marijuana use. Ella* (20) is an undergraduate in the Industrial Design Department and hails from Canada: “It’s a lot better giving people the right to choose. That’s really important. I think Dutch people are better at self-governance. In Canada, people will say ‘I don’t smoke weed because it’s illegal’. But here people have gone through a thought process. They might say ‘I don’t smoke because it’s bad for my body or I don’t enjoy it’. I really appreciate that perspective.”

Sebastian* from Germany agrees: “Dutch culture is a bit of a miracle for me. Everything is so transparent. Everyone is super friendly. But at the same time, everyone is doing his own stuff. Carnival was really interesting in that lots of people were high. During the day, you really saw that people were smoking. For me it’s really nice that people are so open about it. It’s a lot better because it’s something I did at home almost every day so it’s really nice that it’s legal. It makes it less stressful.”

Mathijs de Croon explains why marijuana use, though tolerated, is still stigmatized in the Netherlands. “Probably about 85% of Dutch people drink alcohol but the number who smoke is a lot less - maybe about 2 ½ million people. And because most people don’t, there’s still a social stigma about using it. We always tell students that, yes, it’s available here but a great majority of Dutch people don’t smoke weed.”

Use or abuse?

Like with any drug, there’s a fine line between using and abusing. Another widely-held belief about marijuana is that it’s not addictive. Mathijs de Croon says that’s absolutely not true: “One in six of our patients have come to us for cannabis use. Ten percent of users will develop an addiction. Like with alcohol, it depends on how young they began to use the substance.”

Out of the three students interviewed, Ella* is the least regular user: “I only smoke recreationally. Like if I’m with my boyfriend and we don’t have anything to do, maybe we’ll smoke and watch a movie. But if I have school work to do, I’d do that first obviously. It’s funny because we’re a very dedicated house. We’re all kind of nerdy and we really focus on school but someone is almost always high.”

Sondh* spends about €20-€30 a week on marijuana but says that smoking is purely for fun. “The studies are stressful but it isn’t that much stress that you need to take weed to relax yourself. Once in a blue moon, I’ll think I’d like to smoke because I’m stressed but normally it’s just something I do for recreation.” He also likes that smoking marijuana has helped him settle into his new life in Eindhoven: “I have my Indian buddies that I smoke with but I also started going on solo walks at night. I’d go to a coffee shop and sit there and smoke. And through that I made a couple of friends and came to know the culture. It helped me a lot to socialize.”

Sebastian* started smoking when he was 18 and admits that he’s addicted. “Sometimes you just can’t handle everything that’s around you. When you’re a student my age, it’s sometimes really hard and marijuana is something that calms me down. I think about my course and doing everything perfect so that later I can get a good job. Those are some really big questions that I’m really stressed about. I think I smoke too much. I smoke three grams a week. That’s more than €100 a month. It’s really a lot when you think about it.”

Sebastian stresses that his cannabis use is something that’s confined to this period of his life and a habit he’ll leave behind when he leaves TU/e. “One of the key things that I’m smoking so much, that I’m stressed, is that I don’t have structure in my school. I don’t have a rhythm. I would really like to stop [after university]. Now is really the time to find your way, to find yourself. I think in the future when I have a job I can quit.”

*Not their real names.

If you’d like more information or advice about marijuana use/abuse, you can make an appointment with a student psychologist at the STU-reception desk or by calling them at 040-2472221. Or call Novadic-Kentron at 040-2171200. Their website is in Dutch but most counselors will be able to discuss your concerns in English.