Netherlands: first legal cannabis growers appointed in April

In a letter to the Dutch government, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and the Ministry of Justice and Security (JenV) provide a progress report on the trial of legal cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands.

Last December, 10 farmers were chosen by lot from among 42 approved applications, and are waiting to go through several stages of verification before they can move ahead with their cultivation project.

Both ministries have stated that the first recreational cannabis producers could be appointed in April. The 10 producers will not be appointed at the same time, however, in view of the checks still to be carried out and the possible rejection of applications. In fact, one of the 10 producers shortlisted has dropped out. No. 11 on the list, JOINus Foundation, is now in the background check lock.

The letter sent also provides some details on various aspects of the experiment: tracking system from seed to sale, prevention policy during the experiment and timing of the official launch of the first crops.

The start date of the experimental phase will be determined once all the conditions for allocation have been met. For the first few days of legal sales, coffeeshops taking part in the experiment will be able to sell both legal cannabis and hash alongside those from the historical supply chains, so as not to create shortages for customers of these shops.

To assess the effects of the experiment, independent research will take place and begin after the summer of 2021 to take the baseline measurements, namely legal pre-sales consumption conditions.

In addition, a prevention working group was set up in mid-2020 with representatives of the participating organizations, representatives of the participating municipalities, and officials from the Ministries of Health, Social Welfare and Public Health to devise a number of prevention instruments. The prevention plan includes the creation of a «dossier on what works with drugs», which will be shared with all stakeholders and with the Trimbos Institute, the Dutch agency for mental health, addiction and social services.