EP. 12 - AMSTERDAM'S CANNABIS REVOLUTION (with guest Wernard Bruining)

In our new episode of Cannthropology, we explore the origins of how Amsterdam became the cannabis capital of Europe, from the perspective of one of the Netherlands’ most pivotal cannabis pioneers–Wernard Bruining. He’s known as “The Potfather,” and with good reason: in 1973, he opened Amsterdam’s very first coffeeshop, the Mellow Yellow; in 1980, he started the world’s first commercial cannabis seed company (Lowland Seed Company), and five years later he opened Europe’s first cannabis grow shop, Positronics; a decade later in 1995, he founded Europe’s first medical marijuana foundation—Stichting Mediwiet. Host Bobby Black speaks with Wernard about how the Provo movement helped instigate the Netherlands’ policy of cannabis tolerance, how the coffeeshop industry first began, how his “Green Team” of legendary growers/breeders helped turn the world on to sinsemilla, and how learning about Rick Simpson inspired him to switch his focus to the medical side of marijuana. The World of Cannabis Museum Project Presents: Cannthropology—the potcast that explores the history of cannabis culture one artifact and interview at a time. Hosted by World of Cannabis executive director and marijuana media icon Bobby Black. In each episode, Bobby chooses a different item(s) from the museum's collection of around 500 rare antiques, artifacts, and artworks, and welcomes a different guest to help him explore the item’s significance and place in cannabis history. Read our Cannthropology blog at worldofcannabis.museum/cannthropology and in our official media partner Leaf Magazine. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast, please contact us at [email protected]. SHOW LINKS Website: worldofcannabis.museum Facebook: Cannthropology, WOCMuseum, BobbyBlack420 Instagram: Cannthropology, worldofcannabis.museum, BobbyBlack420 Twitter: Cannthropology, WOCMuseum, @bobbyblack YouTube: WorldofCannabis, TheInfamousBobbyBlack Hashtags: #Cannthropology, #worldofcannabismuseum, #worldofcannabis #wocmuseum © World of Cannabis and Cannthropology are registered trademarks of Velleman Beheer B.V.