Netherlands Shares Cannabis Regulation, Production Controls Experience with Luxembourg

On Monday 10 October 2022, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Paulette Lenert, and Minister of Justice, Sam Tanson, paid a working visit to the Netherlands.

The ministers were received by representatives from the Netherlands' Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport as well as the Ministry of Justice and Security in The Hague, to discuss the experience of the regulated and controlled supply chain in cannabis for non-medical purposes launched by the Dutch government in 2017. This experiment aims to verify whether or not it is possible to regulate a supply of quality cannabis for "coffee shops" and to study the effects of a supply chain controlled on crime, security, public nuisance and public health.

The exchanges allowed the Luxembourg delegation to have a general overview of the current drug and cannabis policy in the Netherlands. In this context, the Dutch delegation presented an inventory of their national experience, while also drawing attention to various challenges encountered along the way as well as lessons to be learned for the future. The delegations discussed more specifically issues relating to the controlled production of cannabis.

After the presentation by the Dutch experts of the various education and prevention measures implemented as part of their experiment, a scientific expert from the research consortium gave explanations on the monitoring and scientific evaluation of the experiment. Around a working lunch, the ministers had the opportunity to continue their discussions with the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Ernst Kuipers.

The delegation then traveled to Breda to conduct a field visit. On the programme was an exchange with the mayors of Breda, Paul Depla, and of Hellevoetsluis, Milène Junius.