Drugs Policy and Coffee Shops in the Netherlands

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Drugs Policy and Coffee Shops in the Netherlands

The Dutch policy on drugs is coordinated by The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The Dutch standpoint on social affairs is that is the problem is not "curable" then it should be dealt with in a pragmatic way by managing the issues rather than enforcing strict laws. 

The policy has three main objectives:

• To protect public health
• To reduce public nuisance
• To suppress drug related crime

International treaties prevent the Dutch from legalising cannabis, therefore possession of a small amount is considered a misdemeanour rather than a criminal offence.

The Ministry of Justice is responsible for combating drugs trafficking. The justice authorities and care agencies cooperate at both national and international level.

Dutch policy on drugs makes a clear distinction between hard and soft drugs, depending on their addictiveness, hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs are strictly prohibited and the law is enforced. Soft drugs (including cannabis and marijuana) are illegal but the law enforcers have taken a policy of gedoogbeleid, tolerance. 

Cannabis is still a controlled substance but "personal use" is acceptable and a limit of five grams is acceptable to be carried per person and five plants for cultivation.

The number of drug-related deaths in the Netherlands is the lowest in Europe, as seen from a study undertaken by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in Lisbon. However, the Netherlands is still an important transport hub for the European drugs trade. Holland is also a producer and exporter of amphetamines and synthetic drugs.

Coffeeshops

After the Netherlands relaxed the soft drug policy in the 1970s, coffee shops began to take advantage of the law and sold small amounts of soft drugs to be consumed on the premises. Since then the industry has developed and is strictly regulated.

A coffee shop (coffeeshop) is a café that does not sell alcoholic beverages, and which, under certain circumstances, may sell soft drugs. Although the sale of soft drugs is an offence, few are prosecuted provided the shop owners sell only small quantities and meet the following conditions:

• no more than five grams per person may be sold in any one transaction
• no sale of hard drugs
• drugs may not be advertised
• the coffee shop must not cause any nuisance
• no drugs can be sold to persons under the age of 18, nor can minors be admitted onto the premises

Coffeeshops are found all over the Netherlands with the highest concentration in Amsterdam. They have become a tourist attraction resulting in political debate over whether cannabis should be sold to Dutch residents only.

A coffeeshop is run as normal business and is subject to tax laws, however, as there are no invoices or traceable suppliers of the cannabis they are exempt from certain declarations. The mayor for the community has the power to close any coffeeshop not working within the regulations.

Further Information

• Policy on drugs from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
• Policy on cannabis and coffeeshops: Click here (PDF)
• Wikipedia – Drug Policy of the Netherlands
• The EU International Policy on Drugs