The long-awaited experiment with legally grown weed and hashish has been postponed again. According to Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers, the trial will not start until 2024 at the earliest. Breda and Tilburg are participating in the experiment in our province.
In fact, the trial should have started in 2021. This has been postponed several times for various reasons. For example, it has so far proved very difficult for growers to find suitable locations, obtain permits and open bank accounts. Last month, growers in several participating municipalities already complained about the lack of help from The Hague.
According to Minister Kuipers, it remains an ‘extremely complicated process’. For example, there must be sufficient variation in the weed, the quality must be high and there must be sufficient supply. Otherwise, customers will still opt for other coffee shops, Kuipers fears.
Brabant taste
Incidentally, the minister is not unwilling to the plan of mayors Depla (Breda) and Weterings (Tilburg), who advocated starting with the municipalities that are ready to start. They are afraid that further postponement will have negative consequences for support in their municipalities.
Kuipers says he is thinking about such a start-up phase. “For example, tests can be carried out with the mandatory secure transport and the track & trace system.”
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Disappointment in Tilburg and Breda: national weed test postponed again