Coffee shop owner Rick Brand from De Baron in Breda is happy with the cannabis experiment that will actually start on December 15. In this trial, legal growers will supply cannabis to coffee shops. Because the trial starts with two legal growers instead of three, some coffee shop owners are afraid that there will not be a varied enough supply of weed. But Rick Brand is not afraid of that.
Brand is especially happy that there is now finally a date, after a trial has already been postponed several times. “I actually think December 15 is still too late. If it were up to me, we would have started earlier. Then just with one grower who can supply. Because the sooner I can get reliable weed that I know for sure does not contain pesticides and other if you’re in a mess, the better.”
Brand expects that legal growers will supply high-quality cannabis. This is in contrast to illegal growers who sometimes supply him with bad weed with a THC value that is too low or with synthetic THC. THC is the active substance, which is what makes you high or stoned.
Minister Kuipers of Health announced earlier this year that the start-up phase would start with three growers, but the third grower was not ready on time. “To maintain support for the experiment, we have decided to start with two growers,” the minister writes in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Some coffee shop owners are therefore afraid of a limited range of cannabis varieties. Brand is not concerned about this, because at the start of the trial he will also be allowed to continue selling existing cannabis from illegal growers.
‘Bankrupt tolerance policy’
“We can now finally take the first steps towards legalizing soft drugs. That is necessary, the tolerance policy has been bankrupt for a long time,” says Mayor Theo Weterings of the municipality of Tilburg. He believes that the Netherlands is now lagging behind. “In countries without a history of toleration, they have long legalized and regulated cannabis.
Mayor Paul Depla of the municipality of Breda adds: “This start-up phase in Breda and Tilburg will help to detect any teething problems before the experiment starts nationally. It is also a great opportunity to see how cooperation within the closed chain between legal growers , the coffee shop owners and all other bodies involved.”
Because in the end that is what it is all about, Weterings explains. “Weed no longer has to be grown illegally and that is a blow to the undermining crime that makes a lot of money from it. And even though smoking weed is not healthy, if you do, you have the right to know that the weed you buy is good.” “What is written on the bag is what the bag contains. I look forward to an honest industry that sells safe weed under supervision.”
Strong enough
“We are used to stronger weed from America and Canada at the moment. The Netherlands is a bit behind,” says a weed user at a Tilburg coffee shop. He seriously doubts whether the Dutch state can produce enough good weed. “If that doesn’t work, you will have more street trading and no one wants that.” Another is less negative and says he will definitely try legal weed, but there are concerns about the taste and strength.
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