Netherlands: 79 coffeeshops to be involved in legal cannabis cultivation program

In the Netherlands, the status of cannabis is still based on the on a tolerance system The production, supply and distribution of cannabis are technically illegal, but the coffee shops are not prosecuted when they sell it. As there is no legal production network, the coffee shops are forced to buy cannabis illegally, often of unknown quality, to sell to their customers. According to the Ministry of Health, there are 573 coffee shops in the Netherlands, located in 103 municipalities, a number that has been declining in recent years.

It was to overcome this lack of coherence that the Dutch government launched the a national cannabis cultivation project in 2017, which was to be used to supply various coffee shops on a trial basis, to see how cannabis affects crime and public health. The experiment was initially to involve the country's major cities, who then refused to take part because the details of the plan proposed by the state didn't suit them, notably the requirement to supply all the city's coffeeshops with legal weed, which is empirically difficult to achieve in Amsterdam, for example.

The experimental project of legal cannabis cultivation has been revived, and will normally take place in the following 10 Dutch cities: Arnhem, Almere, Breda, Groningen, Heerlen, Hellevoetsluis, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Zaanstad, which together account for 79 coffeeshops, or 14% of the national total.

The mayor of the Dutch city of Breda was hoping that his municipality would be part of the experiment, so as to move away from a «policy of half-hearted tolerance» that forces coffee shops to rely on an illegal market «dominated by criminals». «Experience clearly indicates that it is possible to legally provide owners of coffee shops quality-controlled cannabis in a closed production chain,» wrote the ministry.

The official launch date has not been announced, but is expected to be around early 2021. This « Wiet Experiment »will make it possible to supply legally grown and tested cannabis in the coffee shops. Desearchers will then be in charge of monitoring the experiment and publishing an evaluation of the experience after four years, including comparisons with towns not taking part (Helmond, Hoorn, Lelystad, Central Groningen, Roermond, Tiel and Zutphen).

The Dutch government has already set participation conditions legal cannabis production: 6 to 10 producers will be designated and granted an official production license. They will have to match their supply to the demand for products in coffee shops. A minimum of 1 year's preparation time is required for cultivation as part of the experiment. Growers will be able to start preparing the crop as soon as they have the license.