As the Netherlands prepares to establish a regulatory system for the cannabis industry (wietexperiment), many other parts of the world push for legalization with home grow laws. The Wietexperiment cannabis trial, scheduled to start March 2021 in ten Dutch cities, has been postponed indefinitely. Arnhem mayor Ahmed Marcouch declared the wietexperiment formally postponed in a letter to the municipal council on Thursday. Currently, there is no standardized system regulating the quality and safety of cannabis products in the Netherlands.

The experiment with legal cannabis supply, procurement, and sale was slated to begin next fall. However, with too many uncertainties, the wietexperiment has been officially halted. This is a huge blow to the cannabis industry in the Netherlands, especially after a year of deadly synthetic cannabinoids being introduced to the market. A standard system of analyzing and ensuring the quality of material is essential in any market. In the Netherlands, this unfortunately does not exist in the cannabis industry. 

Over eighty coffeeshops across the Netherlands are part of this now postponed cannabis trial, including Arnhem, Nijmegen, Tilburg, and Maastricht. The wietexperiment’s concept was not approved by major cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Haarlem. Without support from these major cities, many felt this project was doomed from the start.

The goal of this marijuana production and processing study was for the Dutch government to show if an authorized producing, procurement, and distribution system with quality requirements could be established. There is currently no system in place, and all cannabis is acquired behind closed doors in coffeeshops, a practice known as the back-door policy. Unfortunately, the lack of a regulated structure for the cannabis business in Holland enables not just for criminality, but also for widespread health problems caused by poor growing techniques.

The 4-year wietexperiment plan has officially been postponed indefinitely. In December 2020, 10 businesses were awarded the opportunity to maintain their own cannabis nursery for this experiment. These 10 businesses, including Cookies and The Plug were chosen following a rigorous selection. However, it is now understood that the wietexperiment has been postponed, indefinitely. A new starting date will be determined if these 10 can supply sufficient weed within the constraints of the trial.