Netherlands to Give Full Marijuana Legalization a Trial Run

The Netherlands is preparing to introduce a “weed test” in cities other than Amsterdam. The test would allow smaller-sized municipalities to have marijuana sales in coffeeshops (aka cannabis cafes).

All products offered to coffeeshop patrons would be tested and display the THC percentages, City Lab reported. Locals may not see the coffeeshops offering marijuana for another year and a half, but officials are hoping it will be sooner than that. Officials must identify and approve growers first.

Consumption of marijuana is currently legal in the Netherlands but growing it for commercial purposes is not.

Breda Mayor Paul Depla said, “It’s almost the same as being allowed to buy beer in a cafe, but not being allowed to brew one. In that situation an illegal brewery would be setup tomorrow.”

Officials will need to create safety regulations for growers and sellers.

One local politician in Zaanstad said, “The current situation, where you can legally buy weed in a coffeeshop but can’t supply it legally, is crooked.”

Coffeeshops are expected to have 10 different varieties of marijuana hash and 15 different marijuana strains to choose from during the Netherland’s “weed test” experiment.