Amsterdam wants to take part in the Dutch legal cannabis experiment

Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema informed the Dutch government earlier this week that the city wished to take part in the legal cannabis experiment, which allows the legal production of cannabis for certain coffeeshops within a municipality.

Amsterdam is now considering which district should take part in the national experiment. The Amsterdam triangle, comprising the mayor, attorney general and police chief, agreed in January to take part in the experiment. It is due to start in 2024, with an exception for the cities of Tilburg and Breda from October 2023.

Amsterdam wants to take part in cannabis trial as eleventh municipality, but with only one urban district

Initially, ten Dutch municipalities could participate to the experiment. Amsterdam has expressed interest on several occasions in the past, but participation proved impractical due to the large number (166) of coffee shops in the city.

The government is now preparing to extend the experiment to include an eleventh municipality. The amendment to the experiment that would make this possible is currently being examined by the lower house.

Amsterdam explains its decision to participate with a single district in part by the size of the city:

«The size and population of several Amsterdam districts make them suitable for participation in the experiment. Amsterdam is now in talks with the J&V and VWS ministries about further details. The municipality will soon begin discussions with the districts and the coffee shop sector about the proposed participation. The aim is to select a district for the experiment in May.»

Why is Amsterdam an exception?

When installing the wietexperiment, We already knew that if a district wanted to participate, all the coffee shops in the district had to take part. An exception seems to have been made for Amsterdam, which will select one district and a certain number of coffeeshops.

Goed nieuws voor het wietexperiment. In onze zoektocht naar een 11e stad heeft @AmsterdamNL zich gemeld. Samen met @DilanYesilgoz zal ik uiteraard goed kijken naar de voorwaarden, maar deelname van deze stad aan het experiment zou natuurlijk erg mooi zijn.https://t.co/qTdeOkaJe3

- Ernst Kuipers (@ministerVWS) February 21, 2023

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L’experimentation with legal production aimed at coffeeshops, currently supplied by the black market, should clarify whether it is possible to supply coffeeshops with quality-controlled cannabis in a «closed chain» and in a regulated manner. It will study in detail the effects on public order, crime and public health.

Via CannabisIndustry