Change in policy will not get rid of illegal cannabis cultivation: Dutch Ministries

Little will change around illegal cannabis cultivation, even if the government changes the current tolerance policy, according to officials from the Ministries of Public Health and Security and Justice. The Dutch government is considering three scenarios: regulating both cannabis sales and cultivation, extending the tolerance policy to include growers, or a total ban on both growing and selling weed, NU.nl reports.

No matter which scenario is picked, there will still be illegal cultivation, the officials expect. Under the current policy - in which cannabis cultivation is illegal - only a limited amount of illegally cultivated weed ends up in the coffeeshop. The vast majority is exported. This will remain the case, the officials believe.

In February a majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, voted for regulated cannabis cultivation. When and if a change of law will be implemented is still unclear.