Netherlands: Coffee shops seek clarification over new cannabis restrictions

COFFEE shops in the Netherlands have raised questions on how to comply with new restrictions announced by the Dutch government on the sale of “strong” cannabis, saying enforcement would be difficult given the laws on production.

The Netherlands is famous for its liberal, soft drugs policies. A Dutch citizen can grow a maximum of five cannabis plants at home for personal use but large-scale production and transport is a crime.

On Friday, the coalition government said it would seek to ban what it considered to be highly potent forms of cannabis – known as “skunk” – placing this in the same category as hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine.

But so-called drug café owners said the guidelines were not clear enough.