Yes, in contrary to what all foreigners think, weed is illegal in The Netherlands.
Everyone always sees my country as some sort of save haven for the stuff (especially Amsterdam), but they don't know the first thing about it haha xD
Most of the laws surrounding weed in my country are vague, and one of them is outright retarded. To sum it all up real quick:
- You are not allowed to smoke cannabis
- You are allowed a few plants per house hold
- You are allowed to carry 5 grams off the stuff, anymore and it will be confiscated upon discovery
- As a shop, you are allowed to sell it to people above the age of 18 (adults)
- As a shop, you are NOT allowed to buy it.
These are some of the basic laws in a nut shell. But there is one more, and that is that the police have authority to act on people who violate these laws. Except the first one. So while it is illegal to smoke it, no one has any right to do anything about. This is what we call 'doogbeleid', which kinda means that the government doesn't approve of it, but doesn't condemn it either.
My country is currently arguing (like always) whether or not to make it legal. If they do, they can make a huge amount of money on it and at the same time have more control over the entire thing.
And then a nutshell within a nutshell: It's illegal to smoke, but no one will stop you
(please note, I only took basic law these two months I've been at college. I am far from an expert)