The Bulldog – the first coffee shop

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 88-90
Here we are, at number 90. Can you smell it? On December 17 1975, Henk de Vries ditched the toys of his father’s sex-shop into the canal and established the world's first cannabis coffee shop, The Bulldog, named after Joris, the owner’s dog.
Since the 1970s, the Dutch approach to soft drug use has been pragmatic and realistic. It is a common misconception that soft drugs have been legalized in Holland. The personal use of hashish or marijuana is tolerated, but their cultivation and possession remain a criminal offense. In a coffee shop, like the Bulldog, a regular coffee or cappuccino is just a secondary item on the menu. One funny side-effect of the ban on smoking cigarettes in bars is that joints are meant to be pure marijuana with no tobacco included.
Over 40 years, the Bulldog has earned its place in history. The first coffee shop has been expanded into an empire of five coffee shops and two hotels.