Amsterdam, Nov 15: A Dutch cannabis coffee shop, claiming to be one of the oldest in the Netherlands, invited media organisations to its 35th birthday party this month and enclosed a marketing gimmick in the envelope -- a joint. The invitation from Sarasani, founded in 1968, was received by a news agency on Friday and when the envelope was opened it revealed a three-inch rolled joint encased in a clear green, plastic cylinder.
"For the media the anniversary celebration is the chance to look back on the history of Sarasani and the rise of the whole coffee shop phenomenon," said the press release, inviting guests to the party in Utrecht, a small town outside Amsterdam.
While cannabis technically remains illegal in the Netherlands, its use and sale has been tolerated since the 1970s under strict conditions imposed by the government.
Today there are about 800 coffee shops in the Netherlands, drawing a booming tourist trade.
Earlier this year the Netherlands became the first country to make cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies for chronically ill patients.