Netherlands launch cannabis pilot program

The Dutch government will launch a cannabis pilot program with the goal of full legalization.

Wait, you might ask, doesn’t the country of Amsterdam cafes already have legal cannabis?

Technically no. Not legal, like in Canada or Uruguay.

The Dutch decriminalized cannabis in 1972, making possession of an ounce or less an offense. In 1976, “coffee shops” were all the rage. The official policy is one of tolerance.

So while it is still technically illegal to buy, sell or produce cannabis in the Netherlands, the law is not strictly enforced.

Netherlands launch cannabis pilot program

It seems the days of cannabis prohibition are numbered. Observers expect that this Dutch cannabis pilot program will pave the way to full legalization of the cannabis supply chain.

The Dutch Senate approved it in 2019, but banking and finding the right growers proved more difficult than originally planned.

According to the Dutch government, full legalization of cannabis is the desired goal.

“Together with Minister [of Justice] Yesilgoz-Zegerius, I am committed to making the cannabis experiment a success. I, too, can sense the enthusiasm of everyone involved and am therefore pleased that we can take the first small step here before the experiment officially starts,” Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said in a press release.

Observers assume that the government will start the pilot program this year. It will also only affect the Tilburg and Breda regions, where the Dutch have chosen three cannabis growers to supply cannabis to local coffeeshops.

The coffeeshops can continue to buy from their current ‘illegal’ suppliers and the legal growers.

The pilot program will be completed in 2024. The Dutch government says it will evaluate the results and decide whether to expand legal offerings nationwide.

Details of the pilot program

Legal cannabis in the Netherlands must meet labeling and packaging requirements. However, there will be no THC limits.

Retailers and manufacturers are also free to set and follow market prices. This is important because poor economic conditions are killing the Canadian legal cannabis industry.

Ironically, the city of Amsterdam will not participate in the cannabis pilot program. The city council initially said they were not interested. Now they want to be a part of it.

The city seems to have been shooting itself in the foot lately.

The city council also banned smoking cannabis outdoors in the city’s famed red-light district. The ban will come into effect in May this year.

Residents and tourists can still smoke in the coffee shops.

The Dutch are not alone in their interest in legalizing cannabis. German legalization seems inevitable, as does the US move toward a federal legal regime.

Switzerland has also launched a similar cannabis pilot program.

The Czech Republic, where a robust gray market already exists, is also interested in legalizing cannabis.