A majority of the Dutch house of representatives voted in favor of legislation of cannabis cultivation for recreational use. The plan is that the coffee shops can buy their regulated cannabis from growers with permits, similar to the current situation in some US states.
But the legislation of cannabis cultivation is not yet a fact. The Dutch Senate still has to vote over the adjusted law, and if senators will stick to their party lines, they will vote against it. In view of the upcoming elections, this means cannabis cultivation could become an important subject in the upcoming political campaigns.
Currently the Dutch work with the 'gedoogbeleid'. This results in a situation where max 5 gram cannabis can be sold to consumers in so called coffee shops, but the professional cultivation and traffic of the product is prohibited. Shops have to source their ganja from the illegal circuit. By adjusting the law, politicians want to put an end to this.
As frontrunners in the greenhouse industry, cannabis might be an interesting crop for the Dutch, and especially the knowledge development can become interesting for the rest of the world too. At the moment Dutch greenhouse suppliers are already fully committed to the industry, but not in Europe itself. Since two years, developments in the cannabis industry, both medical and recreational, in the US and Canada have been crazy and suppliers have quite a lot on their plate thanks to this.
Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!
Subscribe I am already a subscriber