Tag: Netherlands

A group of cannabis coffee shops in the Netherlands say the market needs more time to adjust before the next phase of the country’s legal supply chain experiment.

In a letter posted on March 7, 2025, the group, which represents dozens of coffee shops around the country, says the planned switch to only legal products by April 7, 2025, is not practical and that the risk of negative consequences is “enormous” as the quality and quantity of legal products is not yet up to par.

In a memo in December 2024, the government said that as of April 7, all coffee shops participating in the cannabis supply chain experiment will only be allowed to sell regulated cannabis. This date was said to be final, “providing certainty for municipalities, coffee shop owners and growers.”

“As coffee shops that fully cooperate with the experiment, we note that the quantity, quality and diversity of the legal products is still insufficient.”

“We are on the right track with all parties involved—from growers, coffee shops and transporters to civil servants and administrators of the Track & Trace system—but not quite ready yet,” reads the letter, in part. 

“The risk of chaos and a failed experiment is therefore enormous. That would be disastrous for the energy that all parties involved have put into it so far. As coffee shops that fully cooperate with the experiment, we note that the quantity, quality and diversity of the legal products is still insufficient.” 

The Dutch government first announced its plans for the project in 2022, which include exploring the possibility of a “closed cannabis chain” for cannabis coffee shops in several cities across the country. The first sales began in the Dutch cities of Breda and Tilburg in 2023. 

As of June 2024, all coffee shops in all ten participating Dutch municipalities have been allowed to sell regulated products alongside “tolerated” products to consumers. By the end of 2024, 70 of the total 75 participating coffee shops have sold regulated cannabis flower and hash.

The next “experimental” phase of the project, planned to begin on April 7, is set to last around four years. The government also says more approved growers are also expected to be ready to supply in April. 

Six growers are currently approved to supply the program, including one connected to a Canadian cannabis producer.

The goal of the “closed-loop” experiment is to explore the feasibility of a quality-controlled cannabis production and distribution system in the country as an alternative to the current “tolerance policy” that has not-legal-but-tolerated “coffee shop” style points of sale, and unregulated, illicit growers who supply them. 

However, the group of retailers say the system needs at least another six months to be fully prepared for a full transition to selling products only from the legal supply chain.  

“In our view,” the letter continues, “a complete switch to legal products can only take place if every individual coffee shop participating in the cannabis experiment has access to a sufficient number of different types of good quality. At the moment, this is not yet the case. We have tried to make this clear to the mayors involved and to the responsible ministries in all possible ways.”

The group also says there are not enough legal growers and suppliers, and that some suppliers are charging different prices to different stores.  

“There is also a shortage of affordable products, hash, joints, edibles and bestsellers (such as the weed varieties Amnesia and White Widow). It takes time to get our customers to switch to legal products. We also need to be able to maintain a competitive position with the tolerated coffee shops in other cities and illegal market suppliers. We therefore ask you to initiate a so-called optimization phase, in which we can make the necessary improvements together with all parties involved so that the weed experiment can really succeed.”

Representatives for the responsible ministries: Justice and Security and Health, Welfare and Sport, were not immediately available for comment. 

The Mayor of Breda, one of the first municipalities to adopt the supply chain experiment, characterized the issue as a serious problem if supply cannot meet demand, driving consumers back to the illicit market.

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