In Amsterdam’s famous coffeeshops besides the usual fresh marijuana, a variety of hashishes are also sold over the counter. There are many different types of hash from various parts of the world. One type in particular, the legendary black hashish, has a rather dubious reputation. The reason is that the hash is often adulterated or contaminated with non-cannabis products. One of these adulterants, opium, sometimes gets mixed in to soften it up and improve the quality.
Black opiated hashish is sometimes sold in Amsterdam under various names including any kind of “cream”, “indian”, “manali”, “trans-himalayan”, “nepalese”, etc. Since the Afghan war, it seems Amsterdam is awash in hashish with much higher opium content (than usual), and most coffeeshops seem to have no qualms passing this same heavily adulterated hashish as just about whatever black hash you might choose.
The “coffeeshop” is a unique Dutch institution. For over 20 years, coffeeshops have operated with quasi-legal status in the Netherlands. Although there is no law that allows for the production and distribution of large quantities of marijuana and hashish, the Dutch tolerate the presence of coffeeshops because they separate the soft drug users from the hard drug dealers. This makes it less likely that someone desiring cannabis would end up purchasing a more dangerous drug, and keeps a whole market away from the illegal drug trade. The Dutch attitude towards drugs is very straight forward. If you have a drug problem they want to help you, not persecute you! Recreational use of soft drugs is seen as being less harmful to society than persecution and incarceration.