Pilot project for the sale of legally grown cannabis launched in the Netherlands
In order to eliminate this legal gray area and combat drug-related crime as a whole, the Dutch government decided to launch the pilot project in 2019 after a long period of preparation. After a start-up phase in Breda and Tilburg, eight other cities and one district of Amsterdam want to take part in the project.
Contrary to popular belief,cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands, which is world-famous for its coffee shops. Since 1976, only the sale and consumption of small quantities has been tolerated in the coffeeshops. Anyone who consumes hashish or marijuana there is officially breaking the law, but will not be prosecuted.
Until now, however, it has not been legal or tolerated to grow cannabis in the Netherlands. As a result, the almost 570 coffee shops in the country have so far been forced to buy cannabis on the black market. Many coffee shop operators were therefore "dependent" on criminal drug gangs - "and that had to stop", said Breda's mayor Paul Depla.
During the experiment, they will now be supplied by growers such as Holland High, which grows tens of thousands of cannabis plants under bright LED lights in Bemmel near the border with Germany. Holland High was already supplying coffee shops before the pilot project - and was often involved in a "cat-and-mouse game" with the police, as greenhouse boss Ashwin Matai recalls. The delivery trips were therefore often "stressful".
The legally grown cannabis is now strictly controlled and tested, for example for its active ingredient content and possible harmful substances such as the mold toxin aflatoxin. "The product will be clean, tested and free of pesticides," promises cannabis grower Matai, whose company also produces ready-rolled joints and edible cannabis products.
Health Minister Kuipers also said on Friday that the authorities had previously had "no control" and had not been able to test the cannabis offered in the coffee shops "for possible contamination". "Now we can do all that."
The pilot project itself will also be closely monitored and evaluated after four years. The government in The Hague has announced that it will "decide on the future of Dutch coffeeshop policy based on these results and other factors".
The cannabis project in the Netherlands is being followed with great interest abroad. In Germany, for example, the Ampel coalition wants to make it possible to obtain cannabis from non-commercial associations and allow people to grow three plants themselves. However, the possession and consumption of cannabis will remain prohibited for young people under the age of 18.
This will also remain the case in the Netherlands: As before, only the sale of a maximum of five grams of hashish or marijuana per person per day will be permitted in coffee shops. The sale to minors is prohibited - as is the sale and consumption of alcohol and hard drugs.
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- The pilot project aims to supply cannabis to coffee shops in Breda and Tilburg, which have been purchasing it from the black market, as well as eight other cities and a district of Amsterdam.
- Holland High, a cannabis grower based in Bemmel near the Netherlands-Germany border, is one of the suppliers for the pilot project.
- Previously, it was not legal or tolerated to grow cannabis within the Netherlands, forcing coffee shops to rely on illicit sources.
- The legally grown cannabis will be tested for its active ingredient content and potentially harmful substances like aflatoxin, ensuring the product is clean and free of pesticides.
- Dutch Health Minister Kuipers mentioned the authorities had no control over and could not test cannabis offered in coffee shops before, potentially containing harmful additives.
- The pilot project will last for four years and be closely monitored and evaluated to inform future coffeeshop policy in the Netherlands.
- While the cannabis project in the Netherlands is attracting interest abroad, it will maintain the current legal limits on sale, with only five grams per person per day permitted in coffee shops.
- The sale of cannabis to minors remains illegal, in accordance with the government's policy on preventing drug misuse and addiction.
- Germany's Ampel coalition has proposed allowing non-commercial associations to supply cannabis and allowing individuals to grow three plants, but maintaining prohibitions on possession and consumption for under-18s.
Source: www.stern.de
