This is a digital coffeeshop dedicated to aggregating information about the industry. The industry has so many aspects to it. The products. The design. The spaces. The people. Here i’m looking to showcase the great dispensaries, the beautiful products, the current news, the important policy, and the growing culture affecting this space.

I went to Amsterdam while in college and it left an impression on me. It wasn’t as seedy or as scary as i’d been led to believe. It is actually beautiful, and organized, and thoughtful. Later, when I lived in NYC, I dreamed that one day cannabis would be normalized like alcohol was and cities like NYC would become more like Amsterdam. So I started thinking about what New Amsterdam Coffeeshop should become. I wanted to recreate that sense of being in a European Cafe where you could eat, drink, read, and discuss the goings on of the day. After several years as an operator in the legal industry in California, I decided to make this a website.

Many articles you will need to go through paywalls on their respective new sites, like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the LA Times, but when I see content in those mainstream sources that is fitting to the purpose of this website, I will aggregate it here so people can follow along. I will also post links to articles from cannabis specific news sources that have developed over these years. This is more of a curated website in that regard. More like a newsstand, with some dispensary and lounge reviews I post so as to direct people to the places I think are running appealing operations.

I’ve spent over a decade following this nascent industry and I believe overall it is moving in the right direction, despite the volatility and setbacks. As legalization marches on at the state level, hopefully a tipping point comes on the federal level sooner than later. Regardless, today’s cannabis industry is a far cry from how many of us came into this world. It truly is getting safer, more accepted, and more normal.

I am sure this site will go through many revisions, but its now off the ground and i’m excited to see where we go.

Best,
Sam