Netherlands-approved cannabis goes on sale from 2020 in plain wrappers

The cannabis involved in the Netherlands' regulated cultivation experiment will be sold in "unattractive" and plain packaging. This is to make sure that people "who weren't planning" to use cannabis aren't tempted into trying it by interesting wrappers, NRC reports based on a proposal that contains the rules for the experiment.

The regulated cannabis experiment is set to start in 2021 in ten Dutch municipalities. During the four-year experiment, all the coffeeshops in these municipalities will only be allowed to sell cannabis that had been cultivated by designated growers in accordance to strict regulations. Exactly who will grow the cannabis, is not yet clear. As cannabis cultivation is currently prohibited in the Netherlands, there are no companies that have experience with legal and regulated cultivation.

The rules in the proposal regarding packaging, are clear however. Growers can choose between transparent wrappers, or wrappers that are one opaque color. The labels are only allowed to use one font - Helvetica in black ink - and labels must cover at least 30 percent of the packaging. The labels are not allowed to say anything about the effects of using cannabis, but must contain health warnings. And the packaging is not allowed to change during the four years of the experiment.

Consultation on this proposal started on Tuesday. In the coming period, citizens, businesses and organizations can comment on the content, according to the newspaper.