Coffee shop holder Alex Meijer now sells around sixty to sixty -five percent legal weed and around four percent legal hashish. He supplements the rest of the sale with illegal hash and weed, but that will change from 7 April. From then on, coffee shops that participate in the weed experiment, including all shops in Breda and Tilburg, may only sell legal cannabis. And that is not feasible according to Meijer, chairman of Tilburg coffee shop club De back door. “In this way we will not have any legal weed in four years and I will also lose half of my customers.”
Last week, coffee shop holders sent a fire letter to the ten mayors of the experimentation municipalities with their concerns. After consultation with the ministries involved, it was decided last week to leave 7 April as the start date. Meijer is not comfortable with it. “I find that very exciting. And my customers too. As it looks now, I have to wipe thirty percent of my menu, because there are no replacement legal products for that.”
“This is how the experiment can fail.”
In addition to the bags of weed and hashish that he sells, he also sells pre -rotated joints with weed and hash. “The sale of legal joints is between fifteen and twenty percent, so there is still a world to be won there.” Meijer also sells ediblescookies and sweets in which cannabis is incorporated. “More and more people want to eat cannabis instead of smoking. But there is virtually nothing legal in it, because there is only one supplier that legal Edbiles sells. “
Meijer is afraid that he will lose customers. “We really encourage illegal trade. The customers who miss their favorite species will immediately take to the streets on April 7 to get their product, with all its consequences. Because when it is not possible to get in the shop, they only have to walk a block and they can buy it illegally.
The weed experiment in short
Since December 2023, legal cannabis has been sold in coffee shops in Breda and Tilburg in addition to tolerated cannabis. This is part of the weed experiment, or as the government calls it the ‘experiment closed coffee shop chain’.
The aim of the experiment is to investigate whether it is possible to legally grow, transport and sell cannabis. Ten growers have been designated who can legally grow weed and deliver to the coffee shops in the experimentation municipalities. In June 2024, eight more experimenting municipalities were added next to Breda and Tilburg.
From 7 April this year, the coffee shops in the experimentation municipalities can only sell legal cannabis.
The concerns of the coffee shop holders were included in the last consultation of the mayors and ministries, but despite that they give the green light for the start of the experiment. Meijer: “The growers meet what the ministry expects. They can deliver enough products.”
“I can’t guarantee everyone’s job.”
But according to Meijer, the supply of growers does not match the demand of customers. “There is a part of our frustration there. The growers do not grow what our customers want, but as coffee shops we have to sell what the grower has grown.”
The switch on April 7 makes him restless. “As coffee shop holders, we have to take a big step back in the turnover we run and we will also lose customers. I can no longer guarantee everyone’s job here.”
“We’ve been in the damn corner for so long.”
He does not understand why the ministry does not want to postpone the test. “They can still turn the buttons of the experiment and say:” That weed, it is starting to be pretty in order, let’s already do that. But the hashish is not even close to switching to a legal range, so we don’t do that yet. “
According to Meijer, more time is needed to get the hash range in order and the government must postpone the experiment to ensure that it succeeds. “I think the bigger goal that we can show that we can legalize and that a closed coffee shop chain is possible. Because we have been in the damn corner for so long and I want a legal store by now. Time is not such an important aspect in that, I think. In this way we will not have legal weed and I will also have lost half of my customers.”
Curious how the tolerance policy in the Netherlands works and what the weed experiment entails? In the podcast series via the front door you get a look at the illegal weed sector, because what is necessary to supply that illegal back door? Listen to the podcast below, in your favorite podcastApp or go to www.omroepbrabant.nl/podcast
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