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Go shoppingIn 2001 a report in the South African Journal of Science reported on several 17th Century smoking pipes, including a number found in the gardens of Shakespeare’s home, had revealed traces of cannabis. The pipes would have a welcoming home in the collection of Dutch marijuana enthusiast Ben Dronkers, one of the founding members of the popular Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Amsterdam.
Attracting over 100,000 visitors each year and with stars such as Whoopie Goldberg, Jack Herer, Dries van Agt, Hedy d’Ancona, Jorge Cervantes going through its doors we wanted to find out what all the fuss was about!
It’s almost 30 years since the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum opened its doors in Amsterdam, The Wallen area of Amsterdam is an historic part of the capital. Most famous, of course, for the red-light district it houses, it is also the oldest part of Amsterdam where today you can find lots of quirky little shops, Dutch coffee shops, pubs, restaurants and all kinds of entertainment. But that’s not all. It is also home to more history: that of the cannabis and hemp plant, which is exhibited in the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum. And those who think that the museum is just for tourists are mistaken.
The Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum opened its doors in 1985 on the ground floor of an authentic Amsterdam canal-side house at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148. At the time, the museum was the only museum in the world fully dedicated to cannabis. It was founded by Ben Dronkers and his good friend the American cultivation guru Ed Rosenthal.
Collection
Since it opened, the aim of the museum has been to exhibit the history of the cannabis and hemp plant and its relationship with human civilisation over the centuries. In Ben Dronkers’ words, “The aim of the museum is to provide the public with information about what hash, cannabis and hemp can do. Not just the role of cannabis in the coffee shops of Amsterdam, but its status as an essential, inexhaustible source and a worldwide cultural and natural phenomenon.”
In the early days, the museum presented work from Ben’s own collection, alongside objects on loan from Ed and other friends and acquaintances. Ben later acquired many of these objects. “Once I saw how beautiful they were in the displays, I didn’t want to let them leave!” Ben explains. This extensive cannabis and hemp collection may well be one of the largest in the world by now, but that was never his goal. “As a collector you just collect.”
It all began at a young age with just a couple of pipes when he was 19. Then during his many travels, Ben learnt more and more about the many uses of cannabis and hemp and became even more enthusiastic about collecting various related objects from all corners of the world. The items in his collection grew to include all kinds of art works and cannabis paraphernalia to tools and machinery used to break the hemp stems and loosen the fibres. Today, the whole collection consists of over 7 thousand objects, some of which are on display in Amsterdam, and some of which are on display in the Hash Marihuana Cáñamo & Hemp Museum which opened in Barcelona in 2012.
Hemp Gallery
When the collection became too large for the original premises, the search for new locations started in 2000. In Amsterdam, extra space was found just a stone’s throw away from the museum at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 130 where a second location was opened in 2008 with even more objects and displays to teach visitors about the many sides of the cannabis plant.
In 2012, the decision was taken to split the museum across two premises and all hemp-related pieces from the collection where moved to the new location, which was to become the Hemp Gallery. The focus of the Hemp Gallery is the use of industrial hemp over the centuries: from the Dutch East India Company ships that sailed in the Dutch Golden Age to the hemp door panels used in the modern car industry. The museum, meanwhile, focuses on the history and future of marijuana and hash, for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes. 
In the motor trade for instance – hemp can be found in door panels often used by the manufacturer BMW.
The museum recently opened a gallery in Barcelona, Spain the Hash Marihuana Cáñamo & Hemp Museum housed in the Palau Mornau, a beautiful 15th-century building in the historic city centre. In 2012, Mr Nice (Howard Marks) hosted a meet and greet there.
The permanent exhibition currently consists of no fewer than 1,226 objects.
For everyone with a trip booked to Barcelona, this museum is a must-see.
