The Transparent Chain
A revision of the Dutch coffee shop policy is long overdue
It is time that policymakers, law enforcement, professionals and other parties involved combine their efforts to work towards the implementation of a transparent cannabis chain that is organised in a responsible and professional manner.
The problems surrounding the Dutch coffeeshop model are rooted in the paradox that at the front-door sale and possession of small quantities are no longer prosecuted, while at the back-door supply to the coffeeshops (cultivation and trade in larger amounts) are still fully criminalised and therefore mainly controlled by criminal networks. The Netherlands has organised the ‘front door’ rather well so far; what it lacks is effective organisation and supervision of the ‘back door’.
How to regulate the backdoor was discussed at the conference ‘De Transparante Keten’ (The Transparent Chain) in Utrecht on 30 October, 2013.
For more information on the cannabis regulation debate in The Netherlands, see also:
• Majority of the Dutch favour cannabis legalisation, Tom Blickman, October 4, 2013
• Cannabis pass abolished? Not really: Half-baked compromise in Dutch government coalition agreement continues disastrous coffeeshop policy, Tom Blickman, October 30, 2012
• The Dutch 2012 election result and the coffeeshops: The future of the Dutch coffeeshops is in the hands of the liberal-conservative party, Tom Blickman, September 14, 2012
• Dutch government to ban tourists from cannabis shops? Tom Blickman, June 28, 2011
• The future of Dutch cannabis policy, Tom Blickman, March 14, 2011
