Question:
Have tried cannabis on a couple of occasions in Amsterdam but it was very much a 'try it for the first time' and didn't have the slightest idea what I was smoking. As a result, I spent a lot of the weekend feeling as though I weighed 30 stone, unable to move a muscle - a million miles away from the giggly high I'd been expecting.

I have some really embarrassing newbie questions for everyone:

Can someone point me to a website that explains the basics of Cannabis - i.e. the difference between Sativa and Indica?, how do you use a bong?, what is resin - how is it used?, how is hash made?, etc Sorry, I know, I know - it's just that the websites I've visited presume you know it all already.

I've never smoked here as I just wouldn't know how to get hold of it unless I grew my own and I'm a regular killer of houseplants through neglect so that's probably not a good idea.

I'm off to Amsterdam in a month and I've tried to do some research looking at the hightimes website, amsterdam coffeeshop directory and various individual coffeeshop websites. I'm probably going to go straight to Homegrown Fantasy straight off the train to stock up and hope they'll give some good advice as to what will give me a giggly high - 'Blue Haze' seems to do the job from what I've read. Can anyone offer any advice on their experiences.

Sorry for the really basic questions but I don't want to look like a complete plank while I'm there - I want a few days of relaxing, talking and laughing - a happy time.

Answer: Go to the Cannabis College (get into the Oud Kirk area and ask any local for directions, or find a coffeeshop in the area). They are very knowledgable and will happily give you maps showing the coffeeshops, lists of varieties and their properties (taste, strength, etc.) and which coffeeshops stock them, etc.

Note the signs on the doors of coffeeshops which say things like "please smoke your joint in the shop, not on the street". Also, it's best if you have a non-partaking friend with you, walking back through the streets on your own while stoned is fairly safe (compared to, say, London) but can be embarassing.