Netherlands: New drug policy spelt out
01 September 1995
In September, the Dutch Cabinet's long-awaited position paper on narcotics was published. It turned out to be a very moderate paper which will not lead to a further substantial liberalisation of the Dutch policy on drugs. The main target audience is clearly the governments of France, Germany and other countries which strongly oppose what they perceive as the encouraging Dutch climate for drug users. For this reason, abbreviated versions of the paper have been translated into five languages and an intensive diplomatic "hearts & minds" campaign is under preparation to convince other European governments of the Dutch position.
Under the new narcotics policy, using cannabis will still be formally against the law, but it will be condoned under certain conditions. The number of "coffee shops" will be reduced from the current 1200 to about 600 with local councils able to decide how many soft drug selling points they will allow (including a "zero option"). Selling cannabis products to the under-aged will become a ground for closing a coffeeshop, as will be the selling of hard drugs on the premises. The maximum amount to be sold a single customer will be five grammes (the idea being to discourage drug tourists), while the coffee shop itself will only be allowed to have a limited but unspecified quantity of a few hundred grammes of cannabis products available at any one time. The "Nederwiet" market (a marihuana variety made out of home grown plants containing a high amount of THC) is thought to become a substitute for imported cannabis products, since its market share has already risen from 10% to over 50% over the last seven years. By allowing home growers (already numbering about 35,000) to cultivate a small number of plants for their own use or to sell to coffeeshops, the government aims to frustrate the hashish market now dominated by organized crime. Also, a limited experiment with the supply of heroin on a medical basis to those addicts considered to be 'hopeless cases' will be started in some of the larger cities. Harsher and more direct punishments combined with detox treatments will be given to addicts committing crimes. Buying soft drugs in several coffeeshops to obtain a larger quantity will still be possible and the possession of anything up to about 35 grammes will be a misdemeanour not actively pursued by the police.