Dutch authorities extended a cannabis consumption legality experiment to eight additional cities on Monday, aiming to reduce crime.
Contrary to common belief, hashish and cannabis trade and consumption in the Netherlands is not legal but tolerated and regulated, mainly through “coffeeshops”.
This experiment, started in late 2023 in Breda and Tilburg, southern Dutch cities, aimed to eliminate this legal “grey area” by establishing a legal cannabis cultivation and supply system for coffeeshops, which previously relied on clandestine suppliers.
Chosen producers were vetted by authorities and the cannabis produced for coffeeshops is strictly monitored.
The project to decriminalise cannabis production and supply to coffeeshops has now been rolled out to cities such as Maastricht in the south and Groningen in the north, assuring consumers and vendors of the quality and origins of their product.
This initiative aligns with a trend towards cannabis consumption decriminalisation worldwide, as recent measures in Germany, Switzerland, and the United States demonstrate.
However, uncertainty looms over Dutch cannabis policy as far-right leader Geert Wilders, whose party dominated the November elections, aims to abandon the current cannabis tolerance policy altogether, close coffeeshops and push for a "drug-free Netherlands."
