Which is better.. Cali or Dam weed?

When we're talking about cannabis, the two top dogs in the flower world are California and The Netherlands. Although a lot of people from other places might argue their weed is better, this post is going to focus on these two places. So, which is better, Dutch weed or Cali weed?

The weed itself

Super Silver Haze from Coffeeshop Rotterdam

Firstly, I'm going to talk about the weed itself. The Dutch system is very strange, and as the growers are all technically criminals (because growing the plant to sell it is illegal) a lot of the buds haven't gone through any quality control and the main motivation is profit. However, in California, the focus seemed more on quality. With so much competition, the top shelf buds are often the most highly praised across the world, and therefore the growers are motivated to grow the best. The general standard of weed in California is much better than that of Amsterdam. However, that is not to say you can't get top quality buds in the Dutch capital (or even in Rotterdam and many other Dutch cities). There are many coffeeshops (my personal favourite is Het Ballonetje) which have some truly amazing buds in also. The problem is a lot of buds are sprayed, and aren't organic, meaning that the high always feels a little fake. This is different in California, as if you go to the right place, organic buds are easy to find. The weed itself is generally better in California than in Amsterdam.

The experience

In Amsterdam it's basically fully decriminalised, meaning that you can sit in coffeeshops and smoke with friends, have a coffee, sit by the canal, and generally not have to worry about anything. This is slightly different in the US. I always felt slightly on edge, mainly because the plant was still federally illegal when I was over there. It was a much more smoke at home and chill type thing, than going out socially and smoking with friends. In California you get an MMJ Rec (Medical Marijuana Recommendation), then you go to a dispensary and buy some weed or whatever you want, then most people will probably go home to smoke. Amsterdam feels a lot more relaxed and chill, and you don't have to buy an (often expensive) MMJ Rec.

The stuff on offer

Hash from Coffeeshop Countdown Rotterdam

California again definitely Trumps (pun intended) the Dutch in this category. You can buy vaporisers, concentrates, high-quality CBD-oil, pre-rolled joints dipped in hash and rolled in kief, edibles (including muffins, chocolate, gummies, and much more) CBD water, THC water, and a whole lot more. However, in Amsterdam coffeeshops, you're currently (as of 09/08/2018) not allowed to sell concentrates, which are one of the most popular ways to smoke in California, and are probably going to be absolutely massive in the future in Europe. The edibles in Amsterdam aren't very precise dosages, and you either don't get very high, or you're so high your head falls off. Some coffeeshops have nice bongs, nice vaporisers (like a volcano vape), and much more which are free to use provided you have purchased some weed there. The hash is also a lot better in Amsterdam, probably because of its close links to Morocco.