Dozens of Dutch cities, towns still want regulated cannabis cultivation test

A total of 26 municipalities signed up for the government's experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation. Utrecht is the only one of the Netherlands' four large cities that signed up. Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague all pulled out of the experiment because they do not agree with how it will be implemented.

While Utrecht signed up to participate, the municipality does want some of the experiment's conditions to be adjusted, RTL Nieuws reports. Like the other large cities, Utrecht's main problem is the condition that all coffeeshops in the municipality must participate in the experiment.

The list of interested municipalities was not published, but RTL reports that in addition to Utrecht, cities like Breda and Tilburg also registered to participate. Between six and ten municipalities will eventually participate. An independent advisory committee will help select them.

Mayor Paul Depla of Breda called it a shame that Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague do not want to take part in the experiment. "But with 26 interested municipalities, I think there are plenty to chose from", he said to the broadcaster.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, approved the legislative proposal for the experiment with state regulated cannabis in January. The law makes it possible for designated growers to cultivate cannabis, which will then be delivered to coffeeshops in participating municipalities. The experiment will last four years