Cannabis growers file lawsuit because of 'unfair lottery draw'

Nine aspiring cannabis growers have filed a lawsuit against the Ministries of Health and Justice about the latest cannabis trial. They argue that the lottery draw was unfair.

At the beginning of December, ten cannabis growers were selected from about forty applications to participate in a new trial. The growers are now undergoing a screening process based on the Bibob Act (The Public Administration Probity Screening Act). If this does not reveal any objections, the growers will be allowed to commence in the trial.

The selection was based on a lottery. However, at least nine of the applicants objected in a joint case to the way in which the draw was conducted. They think that the location, cultivation experience, and a “sound financial basis” were not taken into account.

A coalition agreement established that there will be a national experiment with legal cannabis cultivation. Legal weed will soon be sold in ten municipalities. The ten selected growers will supply the coffee shops in those regions. Within the trial, they each have to grow 6,500 kilos of legal weed per year.

According to Errol Opering, the lawyer leading the case filed by the nine plaintiffs, several municipalities have indicated that they only want one grower within the municipality. However, there are now municipalities with multiple growers who were selected. The lawyer also suspects that one of the growers had registered seven times. “Opportunism has been rewarded,” said Opering.

The growers want the ministries to reassess the applications and set up a new lottery draw.

The list of the ten selected growers has not been published. The first hearing in the case will take place on January 7. A spokesperson for the Ministry has refused to provide commentary, saying that he does not want to prejudge the matter.