Foreword:

Erik works at a coffeeshop in his hometown, playing host, serving drinks and selling weed and hashish. Having quit himself only recently he’s easily triggered, sentimental as only former stoners can get and keeps a journal to document his day-to-day life & make sense of the changes he goes through. And then there’s this fascination with the enigmatic army veteran John…

Obviously based on his own experience, writer and poet Benne van der Velde tells a significantly more than less autobiographic tale about one of the most (in)famous Dutch tourist destinations worldwide, the evolution of the official Dutch policies surrounding the Herb as well as a story about an intelligent, charming dealer who doubts, tries hard to better himself, dares to be vulnerable, struggles, writes, runs and fights. A special but most of all genuinely human slice of life centered in a scene that’s still cluttered with stereotypes and viewed with plenty of bias.

Just to be absolutely clear, an advocate for the daily use of Ganja he isn’t. His story gets right up in your face, it’s hilarious, sometimes uncomfortably honest, manic, surprisingly spiritual, quite virtuoso and very old school hardcore.

Editorial note: the Dutch version of “AFGHAN”, aptly titled “AFGHAAN”, got self-published in 2017 (ISBN 9789402169669) and as such found itself nominated for a 2017/2018 Dutch Indie Award! It is no longer for sale, though, due to Benne simply not being happy with it anymore.