Cannabis Science & Policy Summit - Day 2 - de Kort

Origins of Dutch Cannabis Policy

Marcel de Kort

Dutch Drug Policy is:

• “lenient”

• “a laissez-faire policy”

• “a policy of indifference”

• “an unmitigated disaster!” (Barry McCaffrey, US drug Czar)

• “all drugs are legal in the Netherlands!”

• “the Netherlands is a narco state”

How did we end up with an international image like this?

Conclusion

• The coffee shop system is not the result of a preconceived plan or policy;

• It is the result of:

- pragmatic adaptation to changing contexts

- wrong expectations

- some naivety

Musto: late 60s beginning 70s “the return of drug toleration”

• Wootton Committee (1968, UK)

• Le Dain Committee (1972, Canada)

• Shafer Committee (1973, USA)

• Hulsman Committee (1971, the Netherlands)

• Baan Committee (1972, the Netherlands)

They all point to the same direction; decriminalization!

The Dutch “Woodstock”; Holland Pop Festival Rotterdam June 1970

Key Questions:

• What are the health and social consequences of marihuana use?

• Is marihuana addictive?

• Is the stepping stone theory correct?

• What is the role of the law/criminal justice?

Heroin: the game changer

• The introduction of heroin: summer 1972

• Rapid increase

• Chinese triades, followed by Turkish organized crime

The political package deal: the revised 1976 “Opium Act” with 2 schedules

• Up to 30 grams of soft drugs: misdemeanor

• Above 30 grams: offence

• Substantive increase of penalties possession/trade/production hard drugs

Expectations and naivety

• Cannabis will be legalized worldwide within a couple of years

• For the time being the expediency principle is an effective tool

From house dealers to coffee shops -1970s -1980s

• Toleration of house dealers in subsidized youth centers

• House dealers in coffee shops

• The separation of drug markets

1980-1990 the era of indifference

• No political interest in marihuana and coffee shops

• Increase in number of coffee shops and commercialization

• Increase prevalence cannabis use

• Cannabis and organized crime: 1990s

AHOJG-criteria 1991

• No advertising (A)

• No Hard drugs (H)

• No Nuisance (O)

• No minors (J)

• No more than 500 grams in stock (G)

Continuity and Change 1995

• No legalization

• No more than 5 grams per customer per day

• Increased penalties for large scale cultivation

• More regulation coffee shops locally

Thank you!

marceldekort@upcmail.nl