What we print, and what we don’t
POLYC is published from the Netherlands, in English, for adults. Here is exactly what we do and don’t put in print. No small print, no surprises.
What you’ll find
- Facts with sources. Research findings, statistics, law and policy, market data, lab science. Where a number comes from a study or a government report, we say which one, so you can check it yourself.
- Culture and craft. History, courtesy, kitchens, pipes, travel, fiction, and the occasional bad joke.
- Opinion, labelled as opinion. When the editor is telling you what she thinks, it reads like it.
- People, not premises. We celebrate the person behind the counter. Never the counter.
What you won’t find
- No shops, ever. We don’t name a coffeeshop, a dispensary or a cannabis club, and we don’t print anything that works as an advertisement for one.
- No prices next to a place to buy. We report average prices from published research. We don’t run price lists.
- No rankings. No best-shop lists, no “top ten” premises, no recommendations on where to buy.
- No growing instructions. We write about cultivation as policy and as science. We don’t publish how-to guides.
- No cannabis advertising. We don’t sell ad space for cannabis or for any point of sale. The businesses that supply the trade, and our own books and films, are the only advertisers you’ll see.
- No medical advice. We report what research and medical authorities say. We don’t diagnose, prescribe, or tell you cannabis will cure anything.
- Nothing for children. POLYC is for adults, 18 and over, and it is never sold or marketed to anyone younger.
Why it’s written this way
Dutch law has a rule against publicity that promotes the sale of cannabis. It’s the reason this country has fifty years of tolerated coffeeshops and almost no cannabis advertising, and we think that’s a fair trade. Germany’s cannabis law bans advertising clubs, for similar reasons. POLYC is sold in both countries and several more, so we write to the strictest rule in the room and keep our hands clean everywhere.
That isn’t reluctance. A magazine that can’t be bought doesn’t have to sell anything, which leaves it free to say what it actually thinks.
Photos and other people
Every photo in a custom copy is the buyer’s own, and everyone recognisable in one has agreed in writing. Nominees for Budtender of the Year sign a release before their name appears, and we only ever print a name and a city, never a workplace. Photos sent to us are used for the copy they were sent for, and deleted after printing.
Corrections
We publish figures, and figures change. If you find an error, write to us and we’ll correct it in the next issue and on this site. Tell us what’s wrong and where you got your version, and you’ll get a straight answer.
The name
POLYC means many Cs: Cannabis. Culture. Community. Civil. Conviviality. Because in vintage cannabis culture, community was civil conviviality.
Questions about any of this: [editor@tingeworld.com](mailto:editor@tingeworld.com). POLYC is published by Tinge World, KVK 42080406, the Netherlands.