East Amsterdam Undergoes Marijuana Testing
Amsterdam has proposed that the Amsterdam-East district take part in the national experiment to regulate the cannabis chain for coffee shops, the municipality announced Wednesday.
The project aims to assess the feasibility of legalizing the production, distribution and sale of cannabis. Although the Netherlands tolerates the sale of cannabis in coffee shops, its production and supply is still considered illegal. This so-called policy of tolerance leads to coffee shops buying marijuana illegally through the back door, a situation that has consequences for crime, security and public health.
State weed in the capital.
During the trial the coffeeshops will sell regulated, quality-controlled cannabis produced by selected growers. The experiment is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024 and will last 4 to 5.5 years. The mayor of Amsterdam and the council of aldermen stated that it was important for the municipality of Amsterdam to participate in the experiment, because the results of the experiment could eventually lead to changes in the tolerance policy, which could have important consequences for coffeeshops and the cannabis market in Amsterdam.
Later this year, the municipality wants to talk to the coffee shops in eastern Amsterdam about the future of the process.
Amsterdam was previously interested in participating in the test, but it proved impossible due to the large number of coffee shops in the city (166) and other strict criteria. The cabinet recently decided to allow the city’s districts to participate. With more than 100,000 inhabitants and 10 coffee shops, Amsterdam East now qualifies to participate in the experiment.
The ministers of Justice and Security and of Health, Welfare and Sport must decide whether the Amsterdam East district can be included in the experiment. The other municipalities participating in the test are Groningen, Almere, Arnhem, Nijmegen, Zaanstad, Hellevoetsluis, Breda, Tilburg, Maastricht and Heerlen.
Delay
National politicians have been discussing a regulated marijuana experiment for more than a decade. The national project has suffered many delays over the years since it first received majority support in parliament in 2016. Initially, the pilot project was supposed to start in the fall of 2021, but was postponed several times.
Health Minister Ernst Kuipers attributed this to the complexity of the regulations, but also emphasized the need for great diversity in the types of cannabis supplied to coffee shops. He also emphasized the importance of maintaining a consistently high quality and ensuring a constant supply.
Source: NLTeces (NACIÓ)
