Snoop Dogg’s new coffee shop in Amsterdam has ruffled feathers among officials in the capital, local reports have indicated.
The US rapper and entrepreneur opened a new establishment in the city called SWED – short for “Smoke Weed Every Day” — amid attempts by politicians to reduce certain types of tourism in the city.
Located in the middle of Amsterdam, the new joint — pun intended — is reportedly marketed at “cannabis tourists.”
“Amsterdam has always embraced cannabis, and so have I,” Snoop Dogg, 52, said in a press release regarding the establishment.
“It’s only right that I bring SWED global to this iconic city that understands the joy of great cannabis and a good time.”
Thx 2 everyone who pulled up to 💨 my SWED grand opening in LA 🌴 pic.twitter.com/vRCYCbDo00
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) July 15, 2024
Some are unhappy with the opening, with city officials reportedly launching an investigation into the legality of SWED’s name.
The name “SWED,” a reference to a The Next Episode track that cemented Snoop as a hip-hop star, could breach the Netherlands’ strict advertising rules for coffee shops, according to local newspaper Het Parool.
“Among other things, that means that a coffee shop may only briefly indicate in its name that it is a coffee shop. We are going to investigate whether this is permitted according to the advertising rules,” a spokesman for Amsterdam’s mayor said earlier in August.
Councillor Elise Moeskops has said she understands the municipal authorities’ reaction.
“A coffee shop is just not allowed to advertise. That is at odds with announced product launches and social media expressions of such stars,” she said.
Under local law, new coffee shops are not allowed simply to open in the city, with business owners required to enter into a licensing agreement.
To bypass such legislation, the rapper appeared to have joined with an existing project, the Funky Munkey, run by local businessman Rachid Bahida. They seemed to have rebranded Bahida’s coffee shop as SWED.
The exact extent of Snoop Dogg’s involvement legally speaking remains unclear.
SWED’s opening comes as authorities in Amsterdam attempt to distance the capital from its reputation as Europe’s favourite “sin city.”
In a bid to redraw its image, officials have banned smoking in the streets, pushed bars to close earlier and in 2023 launched a “stay away” digital campaign calling on what it called “rowdy” Brits to avoid Amsterdam.
Last year, mayor Femke Halsema proposed to move Amsterdam’s renowned sex workers from the city’s Red Light District to an “erotic centre” in the suburbs, a proposal which prompted protests.
Others have taken a different view of the opening. For Ferry de Boer, member of the Association of Cannabis Retailers in the city, Snoop Dogg’s decision to launch SWED was a positive.
According to de Boer, the entertainer has “never made a secret of the fact that they are in favour of legal cannabis consumption.”
“The fact that they are now so involved contributes to a certain degree of normalisation. That is positive,” he said.
Sex workers in Amsterdam are protesting against the planned relocation of the city’s famous red-light district to an out-of-town “erotic centre”. https://t.co/w0CPrBrdRo
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 20, 2023
