My FUNKY Documentary – “Coffee Shopping in Amsterdam”

This video is my short film that was featured in two festivals in 2007 in New York, NY and on the isle of Martha’s Vineyard, MA. It discusses cannabis culture in Amsterdam, Holland and makes the distinction between legalization and decrminalization of marijuana. Decriminalization is the abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply.

LOL – Laughing out loud because the first words that came to mind to begin this were “Back in… etc…” instead, I’ll start at the very beginning. In 1998, I told several of my friends that I wanted to party in Amsterdam in 1999, nine people joined me. It was a good time, we were there in the midst of Cannabis Cup, people were in town from around the world. Shortly after Amsterdam I took a trip to Jamaica, while in flight, I came up with an idea for a comedy about a group of friends that go to Amsterdam on an annual basis for a retreat. While researching, in order to have an educated perspective when writing the script, I came up with the idea for this documentary.