As of June 17, the Netherlands began the transition from a tolerance policy to advancing the regulated legalization of cannabis. This experimental program that will be observed in the next three months, initially launched in the cities of Breda and Tilburg at the end of last year, now extends to additional municipalities, including Breda, Enschede, Haarlem, Leeuwarden, Tilburg, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Nederland, Delft, Eindhoven, Den Bosch, Apeldoorn, Leiden, Gouda, Schiedam, and Heemstede.
Initially, to reach twelve Dutch cities, the parliament’s lower house rejected Amsterdam’s proposal for a controlled cannabis production and distribution experiment, restricting the number to ten. Despite the exclusion of Amsterdam, the trial will proceed as planned in the selected municipalities. "The experiment will not make access to drugs easier for young people. It just means that production and distribution will be removed from criminals," Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema told the NL Times.
The objective of this trial is an attempt to put an end to the prevalent black market for cannabis sales that has been conducted in the past. Although the majority of people believe that marijuana is legal in Holland, this is not completely true. For many years, cannabis has been sold in coffee shops, which are known to be within the tolerable limit of allowing only a limited purchase at a time and a ban on advertising the product, where the police are not presumed to arrest people selling and using small amounts within the legally gray area of the tolerant policy to the illegal sale.
The Dutch action is part of a global transition to legalization and decriminalization of cannabis. Germany, Switzerland, and some parts of America have also changed their laws on cannabis use in the recent past, for reasons such as a decline in crime rates and an enhancement of health standards.
The direction of Dutch policy has not been determined, especially given the current political shifts such as the election of Geert Wilders, the leader of the Freedom Party of the Netherlands; the country may shift away from its tolerance policy towards drugs. Wilders and his party call for the closure of coffee shops and the promotion of a “drug-free” Netherlands, which might pose a threat to the current social experiment.
The extension of the trial in the Netherlands over the subsequent three months will be widely observed in its effects on crime, well-being, and health in the community. The decision of this trial will have implications for the general use and possession policy of cannabis in the Netherlands.
The proponents of the existing policy state that the legal and authorized sale of marijuana plays an important role in decreasing crime and reducing the health risks associated with unregulated cannabis, considering the vast government funding and the presence of numerous rehabilitation centers for addiction.
These developments have been long anticipated as the Dutch government aims to curb illicit practices, safeguard its citizens from unsafe products, and establish a global benchmark. Consequently, the outcomes of this trial will be pivotal in shaping the future of cannabis policy not only in the Netherlands but on an international scale.