Born from humble beginnings in the 1990s, Amsterdam’s Cannabis College is a cornerstone of the city’s iconic cannabis culture that’s withstood political, economic, and environmental challenges to offer cannabis education to anyone who wants it.
In 1998, a quaint canal house in Amsterdam’s medieval De Wallen district made headlines after becoming the home of the world’s first-ever cannabis college. For years, the Cannabis College offered courses in botany, history, and therapeutic cannabis use to experienced locals, tourists, first-timers, and anyone else with an interest in weed.
While the college went online-only in 2024, its liberal approach to cannabis education cemented it in the hearts of all its visitors. Of course, the college’s history wasn’t all smooth sailing; it struggled to secure funding, was refused sales permits by the city government, and even faced a devastating fire only a few years after opening its doors.
Nonetheless, Amsterdam’s Cannabis College continues to serve as a safe haven for cannabis activism through public education. Learn more about the college’s history and activities below!
About the Cannabis College
Founded: 1997
Founders: Henk Poncin and the members of the Green Prisoners Release activist group
Address: Oudezijds Achterburgwal 124, 1012 DT Amsterdam, Netherlands
Website: https://cannabiscollege.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SativaCollege/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecannabiscollege/
The Cannabis College was founded by Henk Poncin, leader of the Green Prisoners Release activist group, who lobbied against the extradition and prosecution of Les and Cheryl Mooring in 1994. The Moorings were an American couple seeking refuge in the Netherlands to escape disproportionate jail time in the US for growing medicinal cannabis at their home in Arkansas.
After bringing the case of the Moorings to the attention of both national and international media and significantly reducing the couple’s sentences, Henk felt like he’d found his calling. “To be honest I am very happy that this story became part of my life,” he told Sensi Seeds in an interview. “I feel proud that I was part of it! Especially now, when things are changing for the better on a global scale.”
Henk quickly realised that the distribution of proper information was the only way to put an end to cannabis prohibition. And from that realisation, the Cannabis College was born.
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Rough beginnings
Set to open in 1997, the cannabis college (like many cannabis institutions) faced political opposition right from the start. The Amsterdam city government failed to issue the college a sales permit, leaving it without viable means to make money after most of its funds had been consumed by the renovations of the college campus.
Luckily, that quickly changed: Eddy Reedeker, a contemporary of Ben Dronkers and one of the Netherland’s foremost cannabis breeders, sponsored the college via his seedbank, The Flying Dutchman. The reason behind Eddy’s generosity was simple: “I earned my money for 35 years [through] working with this plant; this is something I have to do in return,” Reedeker said.
Thanks to Eddy’s initial investment, the Cannabis College was able to open its doors, start delivering classes, and generate an income to stay operational. Then, in 2002, disaster struck: the College’s library and information centre were lost to a fire. While devastating, the College bounced back from the inferno looking better than ever, boasting a renovated library, a brand-new cannabis garden, merchandise, and a website (a very big deal in the early 2000s!).
In 2009, Eddy Reedeker decided to retire, and his patronage of the world’s first cannabis college was taken over by someone very special: Sensi Seeds founder, Ben Dronkers. A close friend of Eddy and a fellow philanthropist, Ben jumped at the opportunity to continue giving back to the cannabis community.
Education as activism
Born out of the Green Prisoners Release’s social and political efforts, the Cannabis College has always held a simple manifesto: education is activism. From its founders and investors right down to the staff working behind the campus counters, every member of the college shared the belief that the evolution of legalisation depends on real, public cannabis education, not more propaganda.
To uphold its manifesto, the Cannabis College hosted training sessions, medical lectures for those in the public health sector, cannabis strain release parties, poetry readings, film premieres, and even university lectures. Through the delivery of quality information, the college has supported both Dutch and international cannabis activism and policy reform ever since it opened its doors.
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Past activities
Before the Cannabis College left its physical campus in 2024 to operate online, some of the activities it held included:
- Free admission and library visits
Entering the college was always 100% free, and its library carried a hand-curated selection of literature and digital media about cannabis, with books available in Dutch, French, Spanish, German, English, Italian, Japanese, Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and Norwegian.
- Cannabis garden visits
For a donation, visitors could enter the college’s cannabis garden and take photos of the plants.
- Day classes or extended courses
By booking in advance, visitors to the college could partake in a range of 1-day or extended courses about cannabis consumption methods, cannabinoid science, medicinal cannabis use, culture, and cannabis history. For cannabis businesses like coffeeshops, the college also provided staff training.
- Cannabis testing
Amsterdam’s Cannabis College long served as one of only a handful of places in the world offering public cannabis testing. For a small fee, the college would test weed samples for their concentration of six major cannabinoids: THC, THCV, CBD, CBN, CBC, and CBG, as well as common contaminants. For a slightly higher fee, the college would also provide a full microscopic analysis of a sample.
- Events
The cannabis college has held lectures, film screenings, strain parties, and many other events, all in the name of connecting like-minded people with a passion for cannabis.
While it may no longer have its iconic physical campus, Amsterdam’s Cannabis College remains an icon of Dutch cannabis culture and reminds us of the necessity of effective, public cannabis education. Legalisation will never be a reality without it!
If you’re in Amsterdam, while you might not be able to visit the college, why not stroll past its old campus, then walk around the corner to the Sensi Seeds Cornershop or over the canal to the original Sensi Seed Bank. Finally, you can visit Ben Dronkers’ Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum to explore the past, present, and future of mankind’s oldest crop!
Were you lucky enough to visit Amsterdam’s Cannabis College in the past? We’d love to hear from you! Share your experience in the comments below.
hello,
I would like to go there to get some cannabis studies, I have some knowledge but nothin more.in my country it is not legal and it cannot be planted at home.
It is punishable by law, that is why I want to go there by the time it is legalized in my country I will already be more advanced.
My second language is English and I accept any advice or help you can give me
thank you
Al
Good morning Alvaro,
Thanks so much for your comment,
To find more about the cannabis college please head over to their website here!
Have a great day!
Mark
is it a college which provide cannabis study program for international students ?
Buenas tardes Mithrun,
Gracias por tu pregunta,
El Amsterdam Cannabis College ofrece consejos sobre el uso seguro del cannabis recreativo y medicinal. Ofrecen cursos para principiantes y avanzados, tutoriales prácticos gratuitos, pruebas de cannabinoides y servicios B2B para cualquiera que desee participar. Se puede encontrar más información en su página de inicio.
Qué tengas un lindo día,
Mark