The Netherlands to decide by summer on legal cannabis cultivation tests

Dutch government to publish proposals for legal cannabis cultivation experiments by summer according to Minister of Justice Ferdinand Grapperhaus, in a letter to Parliament.

The Netherlands is now looking to to put an end to this ubiquitous situation which allows cannabis to be sold in coffeeshops, but not legally produced on a commercial scale. Most of the cannabis sold in coffeeshops today is produced on the black market, providing financial support for criminal networks.

A special commission headed by Professor Knottnerus is due to deliver its report on May 31, outlining the experiment. The Ministers of Justice and Health will then make their decision on how the experiment will be conducted, and will have to pass a new law currently under consideration to allow the legal cultivation of cannabis.

The experiment is expected to last four years, and will be carried out in 6 to 10 conurbations yet to be defined. Within 6 months of the test period, the situation will return to what it is today, and independent experts will evaluate the results.

Last November, 25 of the 380 Dutch local authorities, including Rotterdam and Breda, expressed a desire to regulate the cannabis production. The city of Breda had hoped that the government would introduce as many types of production as possible «in order to choose the best one for regulated cultivation».

If the experiment were to be implemented, the Netherlands would be the first European country to regulate the production and distribution of cannabis for adult use.