CANNABIS CULTIVATION IN THE NETHERLANDS

While Dutch authorities allow the sale of recreational cannabis in coffee shops, cultivation and wholesale for that market remains completely illegal.

They are however now planning to become the first country in Europe to allow commercial production of adult-use marijuana – under  what they call wietexperiment (weed experiment).

In other words a limited number of companies would be allowed to legally grow marijuana to supply coffee shops in the country that would, in turn, sell the products to consumers.

These licenses will only be released from early 2020 and the requirements for such companies would be having a business plan in place, responsible for the cultivation, quality control, packaging, transport, etc.


The experiment in question is no simply undertaking. Here is an outline of the facts and what will take place to achieve this temporary experiment:

• Currently, the Netherlands has 573 coffee shops spread over the 103 municipalities that allow them.
• The experiment would allow a minimum of six and no more than 10 Dutch municipalities to participate.
• Once the law is in place, growers will still have many hoops to jump through before cultivation and sales commence.
• Interested potential growers will have to apply for a grow permit and be selected.
• After selection, a preparatory phase will take place to build up sufficient stock – a period that could take a year or more.
• After the preparation phase, a transition period of six weeks will be established to allow coffee shops to switch from illegal suppliers to legal providers.
• The experiment will last four years, but it can be extended for another year and a half.
• A committee will be responsible for an independent assessment at the end of the experiment.
• Once the experiment is over, the country returns to the situation before the testing period began, which means all coffee shops would need to go back to their illegal sources of cannabis unless the law changes.

Limitations

• Among other requirements, all coffee shops in the municipalities that register must participate in the experiment and obtain their supply exclusively from regulated growers. In other words, coffee shops will be required to stop sourcing product from illicit sources, which they have relied on for years.
• The government wants to be able to fully evaluate the results of the experiment in the municipalities that adhere, preventing two enforcement regimes. Allowing coffee shops in a single municipality to source from both legal and illegal sources would taint the results. This means it will be unlikely that large municipalities with many coffee shops, such as Amsterdam or Rotterdam, will join.
• Municipalities bordering Belgium or Germany could apply to participate, but sales to nonresidents in those areas will remain prohibited.
• Coffee shops would be able to have a maximum stock of a weekly turnover of cannabis, much larger than the current tolerance policy of just 500 grams.

Experimental issues ahead

• The first harvests will not occur before the next general election, slated for March 2021.
• The experiment could last until 2027, which means cannabis reform will be at a standstill and other countries will advance whilst Dutch knowledge and expertise will continue to emigrate to the US and Canada or other European competitors.