Start here: what is a smartshop?

Picture a shop that's part herbalist, part plant nursery and part curiosity cabinet, with a bit of a pharmacy's seriousness at the till. That's roughly what a first-time visitor expects of a Dutch smartshop, and roughly what they get, give or take the odd shelf of things that have nothing to do with supplements. If you've landed here wondering what the word actually means, this is the front door. We'll cover what a smartshop is, where the idea came from, what's usually on the shelves, how the Netherlands differs from the rest of Europe, and how to read a label without needing a degree.

What the word means, and what it doesn't

A smartshop is a Dutch kind of shop (and, today, a kind of webshop) that sells herbal, fungal and "smart" products with a mood, energy or perception angle, such as plant extracts, truffles, nootropics and supplements. It isn't the same as a headshop, which is mainly about accessories. The word "smartshop" tells you where something was bought. It says nothing about whether a product is safe, effective or legal where you live; that's decided product by product and country by country.

Pocket guide before you go in

• What it is: a retail category, not a legal category. Dutch drug-information service DRUGSinfo describes smartshops as shops where "smartdrugs" are sold, physical or online, and separates them from headshops, which mostly sell paraphernalia (DRUGSinfo).
• What's on the shelves: truffles, herbal products such as kratom, kanna and damiana, nootropics, supplements and more. The range is wide, and the evidence and risk differ enormously between items.
• Law: the Dutch Opium Act lists specific substances. As of 8 October 2026, kanna and kratom aren't named on those lists. Psilocine and psilocybine are on List I and psilocybin mushrooms ("paddo's") on List II, and the text names no truffles. Fresh truffles are sold legally; the position on dried truffles is disputed between sources. In a 2025 ruling on an import of kratom leaf powder, a Dutch appeals court held that kratom is not excluded from food law as a narcotic; the authorities' position that it is an unauthorised novel food was not contested on appeal.
• Not EU-wide: what's on sale in the Netherlands can be controlled elsewhere. Kratom is a good example. Laws change, so check current rules.
• Your move: read the label, ask what was studied, and check medicines with a pharmacist.

Smartshop or headshop?

DRUGSinfo treats "smartshop", "ecodrugs" and "smartproducts" as overlapping consumer terms. Ecodrugs are dried plants or mushrooms with drug effects; "smartdrugs" is the wider umbrella, including supplements and energy drinks. The service says the minimum age to buy in a smartshop is 18 (DRUGSinfo, read 8 October 2026).

Headshops are the older cousin, built around cannabis-related accessories. Smartshops often sell those too, but they're best known for the ingredients rather than the pipes.

A short history: from one shop to a whole genre

The shape of the story is fairly clear even if the exact dates depend on who's telling it.

• Early 1990s. The first smartshops appear in Amsterdam. Azarius dates the first to Conscious Dreams, opened in October 1993, and says Azarius became the first online smartshop in 1999. This is a seller's account of its own industry, so treat the details as a starting point (Azarius, history of smartshops in Amsterdam).
• 1 December 2008: paddo's go on the list. Mushrooms ("Paddo's", fresh or dried) are on the Opium Act's List II; Jellinek, a Dutch addiction-care organisation, says dried ones were banned first and fresh ones followed on 1 December 2008, after reported incidents. Jellinek also says growing kits are "niet verboden" (not banned), while the mushrooms they produce are prohibited to cultivate and, as List II, to possess; according to Jellinek, police generally don't act on small user quantities (version January 2021). The statute text doesn't name kits, spores or mycelium, and we found no court ruling on kit sales (Jellinek, January 2021; DRUGSinfo).
• After 2008: truffles take centre stage. Truffles (sclerotia) are the underground part of the fungus, not the mushroom. As of 8 October 2026, the Opium Act text puts pure psilocine and psilocybine on List I and mushrooms on List II, and the statute names no truffles or sclerotia (Opiumwet). Fresh truffles are sold legally in Dutch smartshops, according to Jellinek, DRUGSinfo and Drugs en Uitgaan. On dried truffles the sources part ways: Jellinek (page version January 2021) says they're banned, while DRUGSinfo and Drugs en Uitgaan make no such distinction. We treat dried truffles as unresolved, so check the exact product before you assume anything. The designer-drug ban below doesn't mention truffles as far as we found, and nothing we found changes this picture, but official wording is worth re-checking.
• The "legal highs" era. Alongside plants, a wave of lab-made substances was sold online and in shops as legal alternatives to controlled drugs, and some were legal only until the law caught up. Dutch research institute Trimbos reports that because some of these substances were initially legal, they were sold through Dutch webshops, and that a new substance group ban for new psychoactive substances (NPS) came into force on 1 July 2025, covering phenylethylamines including cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids and fentanyl-like substances (Trimbos-instituut).
• Rules keep moving. The Opium Act version valid from 28 January 2026 includes HHC (hexahydrocannabinol) in its lists, a product that had been sold openly before (Opiumwet, version of 28 January 2026).

That last point is worth remembering. "Legal" is a snapshot, not a guarantee, which is why every legal statement on this site carries a date. The ones here were read on 8 October 2026 and aren't legal advice; check current rules.

What's on the shelves

DRUGSinfo's list of what smartshops sell is a handy map: truffles, other psychedelics (such as salvia, LSA and mescaline cacti), herbal products including kratom, kanna and damiana, designer or synthetic drugs, nootropics, supplements, cannabis seeds, paraphernalia, test kits and poppers (DRUGSinfo). Here's one way to sort the main groups, with the question that does the most work on each shelf.

• Shelf: Herbal products; Typical examples: Kanna, kratom, damiana; What's different about it: A named plant, but extracts and preparations vary a lot; The question to ask: Which part of the plant, which extract, and what has been studied in that form?
• Shelf: Truffles and fungi; Typical examples: Psilocybin truffles; What's different about it: Legal position is specific to the form and the country; The question to ask: Which form is it, and what does current Dutch law say about it?
• Shelf: Nootropics and supplements; Typical examples: Capsules, powders; What's different about it: Closest to ordinary food-supplement rules; The question to ask: What's the actual dose per serving and what was tested?
• Shelf: Accessories; Typical examples: Grinders, scales, kits; What's different about it: Not an ingredient at all; The question to ask: Is this relevant to what you're trying to learn?
• Shelf: Synthetic products; Typical examples: "Research" or designer compounds; What's different about it: Many have since been banned as groups; The question to ask: Is it listed on the Opium Act today?

This site focuses on the herbal, fungal and nootropic shelves, plus sleep, focus and routine supplements. Synthetic drugs aren't part of it.

How the Netherlands differs from the rest of Europe

Three things trip people up.

The Opium Act is a list, not a vibe. Dutch drug law works through named lists. The current text (valid from 17 September 2026, read on 8 October 2026) is the starting point, and it doesn't mention kanna (Sceletium), kratom or mitragynine. It does name psilocine and psilocybine (List I), psilocybin mushrooms (List II) and a long list of synthetic substances (Opiumwet). Not being listed doesn't mean a free-for-all. DRUGSinfo notes kratom isn't in the Opium Act but falls under food law (the Warenwet) and can't be marketed for consumption (DRUGSinfo, kratom). In June 2025 the Dutch appeals tribunal for trade and industry (CBb) held that kratom is not excluded from food law as a narcotic in a case about a 1,100 kg import of kratom leaf powder; the authorities' position that it is an unauthorised novel food was not contested on appeal (ECLI:NL:CBB:2025:340). We found no ruling on retail smartshop sales, capsules, extracts or gummies. A draft decision on Opium Act lists I and IA dated 31 March 2026 also exists; its substances weren't visible, so we can't say whether it touches kratom.

Food rules still apply. The Dutch food authority NVWA says some supplements and herbal preparations can contain unsafe, sometimes banned, ingredients that aren't on the label, and that herbs can weaken or strengthen medicines (NVWA, supplements). It also says medical claims about preventing, treating or curing disease aren't allowed for foods, with "helps depression" as an example (NVWA, claims). A smartshop product can therefore be on sale without being allowed to say what it's "for".

Europe doesn't match. There's no single European smartshop rulebook. An archived copy of the EU Drugs Agency's kratom profile reports kratom, mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine as controlled in at least 12 of the countries it monitors, including Denmark, Poland, Sweden and Finland (EUDA kratom profile, archived copy). The practical point is this: what's on sale in Amsterdam can be controlled elsewhere, and legal sale doesn't give you permission to carry it across a border.

Reading a shelf and a label sensibly

You don't need to be an expert. You need a few repeatable questions.

1. Name it exactly. "Kanna" could be leaf, powder or an extract. A plant name alone doesn't tell you what's inside.
2. Find the amount. A label should tell you what a serving contains. If it doesn't, you can't compare products or read a study against it. Our guide to reading supplement labels shows how.
3. Match the claim to the evidence. A study of one extract at one dose in one group of people doesn't automatically carry over to a different product.
4. Check what a "lab test" covers. A batch report tells you what that batch was tested for. It says nothing about benefits.

• What the shop says: "Natural"; A better question: What's actually in it, and in what form?
• What the shop says: "Good for beginners"; A better question: Based on what, and who for?
• What the shop says: "Lab tested"; A better question: Which batch, which tests, which limits?
• What the shop says: "Supports mood"; A better question: Which human outcome was measured, and in whom?
• What the shop says: "Legal"; A better question: In which country, for which activity, as of when?

Shop staff can be knowledgeable about their range. They aren't a substitute for a pharmacist when you take medicines. Herbs and supplements can interact with prescription drugs, and NVWA says so plainly. Bring the exact products and your medicine list to a pharmacist, and read our supplement and drug interactions guide beforehand. If something goes wrong, keep the packaging and batch number, and NVWA says side effects can be reported to the Lareb side-effects centre or your doctor. For severe or fast-worsening symptoms, call emergency services (112 in the Netherlands and across the EU).

Just want ordinary supplement advice?

Smartshops sit next to a much bigger world of ordinary supplements, and the basics apply to both. Our Smart Supplements 101 walks through a simple order of operations: name the need, check the evidence for that need, read the product, and review safety before buying. It also covers the EU context for food supplements. It's the right place if your question is "do you need this at all?" rather than "what's this thing on the shelf?".

What this site covers

This site is a guide for adults in the Netherlands and the EU who are curious about this world and want it explained without a lecture. We cover smartshop ingredients (kanna, kratom, truffles and similar), plus focus, gaming and nootropic supplements, and sleep. Claims link to sources, tradition, lab work and human research are labelled as such, and the legal bits are dated.

Where to go next

Start with the label basics in how to read supplement labels, check supplement and drug interactions if you take medicines, and use Smart Supplements 101 for general decisions.

Written by Smart Supplements with AI assistance from the sources linked in the text. It has not been reviewed by a clinician.

Last updated: 12 October 2026

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement, especially if you take prescription medication.