The weed experiment of the cabinet is conducted in a maximum of ten municipalities. Minister Grapperhaus (Justice and Security) dismissed the wish of GroenLinks, SP and PvdA to experiment in more municipalities with the cultivation of legal cannabis.
The proposed structure is sufficient, says Grapperhaus. “It has been agreed in the coalition agreement: six to ten municipalities. Including control municipalities, there are even twelve to twenty. ” According to the CDA minister, carrying out the test in more places leads to tension with international and European law. Moreover, it is very expensive to involve more municipalities, according to the minister. Also 'signals from neighboring countries' give reason not to carry out the weed test in more places in the Netherlands.
This also dismisses the most important wish of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG). VNG calls it a 'missed opportunity' that the trial will be limited to a maximum of ten participating municipalities. The effect could thus be insufficiently measured.
GroenLinks and SP fear that legal cannabis cultivation is doomed to fail in this way. The duration, four years, also causes concerns for the opposition parties. The fear is that coffee shop owners will have to go back to illegal growers and suppliers with hanging feet. An extension of one and a half years is possible. The then sitting cabinet assesses whether the weed test gives cause to make legal weed cultivation possible throughout the Netherlands.
The purpose of the weed experiment is to remove coffee shops from the illegal circuit by growing and supplying weed. Now that is forbidden.
Read the full article Telegraaf.nl (Source)
