Dutch legislators consider cannabis reform amid coffeeshop violence

By James Bunn

Recent violent attacks on cannabis coffeeshops in the Netherlands highlight the urgent need for the country to regulate cultivation of the drug.

In the Netherlands, coffeeshops are café-style establishments in which the sale of cannabis for personal consumption is tolerated by local authorities. However, under Dutch law, large-scale cannabis cultivation or sale is illegal. Therefore, whilst coffeeshops have legal “front doors” for selling cannabis to consumers, their “back door” stocks cannabis illegally from criminal organisations.

There have been seven drive-by shootings on Dutch coffeeshops in 2016 so far. Although the police have not officially attributed blame for the violence, these acts of intimidation are seemingly indicative of disputes among the illegal groups that supply coffeeshops with cannabis.

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