Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Dutch lawmakers are considering a plan to regulate the cultivation of cannabis for commercial distribution. Passage of the plan would make the Netherlands the first in the world to enact federal regulations for commercial pot farming.
While current Dutch law allows for the commercial sale of small amounts of cannabis, cultivation of the crop remains illegal except in cases where it’s grown for medical purposes under government contract. Under the proposed plan, a pilot program would be enacted in the southern city of Maastricht to allow licensed farmers to cultivate cannabis, which would then be supplied to and sold by local coffee-shops.
Presently, numerous EU nations license farmers to grow commercial quantities of industrial hemp a distinct variety of the plant species containing only minute (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. However, no nations apply similar regulations to the commercial cultivation of cannabis for personal use.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.