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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
