Drug policy of the Netherlands

The drug policy of the Netherlands officially has four major objectives:

By contrast, most other countries take the point of view that recreational drug use is detrimental to society and must therefore be outlawed. This has caused friction between the Netherlands and other countries about the policy for cannabis, most notably with France and Germany. As of 2004, Belgium seems to be moving toward the Dutch model and a few local German legislators are calling for experiments based on the Dutch model. Switzerland has had long and heated parliamentary debates about whether to follow the Dutch model on cannabis, most recently deciding against it in 2004; as of 2005, a ballot initiative is in the works on the question. A new law came into force in the Netherlands requiring people to have membership cards to gain entry to coffeeshops. These cards are only available to residents of the Netherlands who apply for the card, known as a 'weed pass'. This requirement was promptly adopted by several provinces, including the cities of Maastricht and Eindhoven. Proposals were made in 2012 adopt this requirement in Amsterdam, but fierce opposition from the Mayor of Amsterdam and many local coffeeshop owners eventually led the Dutch government to allow the individual provinces to determine their local policy, at which point Amsterdam rejected the membership cards. Entry into coffeeshops and the sale of cannabis in Amsterdam therefore remains permissible to anyone over the age of 18. A few coffeeshops in the south of the Netherlands were already forced to handle this new law for testing purposes, and residents soon began complaining about growing criminality problems from drug dealers operating on the streets.

If seen to fruition, which seems likely, the new laws will reduce tourism in the Netherlands dramatically and cost the exchequer millions in lost revenue and well-established business are forecast to go bankrupt. The club owners argue that the previous law opened the door for other European nations with relaxed attitudes on cannabis to capitalize on the niche in the market and take the valuable tourist resource. Maastricht’s association of coffeeshop owners lost in June 2012 in a Dutch court a legal challenge of the new rules against the city's mayor. Amsterdam has decided to not enforce the new law and will continue to sell to tourists.

While the legalization of cannabis remains controversial, the introduction of heroin-assisted treatment in 1998 has been lauded for considerably improving the health and social situation of opiate-dependent patients in the Netherlands.

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Wikipedia