In ten Dutch cities, coffee shops now sell only legally grown cannabis. An initial official assessment, published in September, reports a significantly expanded supply but no measurable impact at this stage on consumption or safety.
Since April 7, 2025, the 71 coffeeshops in Almere, Arnhem, Breda, Groningen, Heerlen, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg, Zaanstad, and Voorne aan Zee have been required to source their supplies exclusively from state-licensed growers. Officially known as the “Experiment gesloten coffeeshopketen,” the program is better known in the Netherlands as the “wietexperiment”.
On November 11, the Chamber of Deputies is set to debate the initial results of this experiment, which is intended to determine whether a legal cannabis supply chain—from cultivation to sale—can function.
A system that is tolerated but has never been legalized
Cannabis has never been legal in the Netherlands. Since the 1970s, the country has followed a policy of tolerance, known as the gedoogbeleid: the sale of small quantities in coffee shops is not prosecuted, but cultivation remains prohibited.
This compromise created what the Dutch call the “back-door problem” (achterdeurprobleem). Coffeeshops sell openly over the counter, but must source their supplies from illegal producers because there is no authorized supply chain (cannabisindustrie.nl).
Criticized for fueling organized crime and preventing any oversight of product quality, this system is at the heart of the program launched by the authorities, which aims to test a fully legal supply chain.
Ten cities, ten producers, a closed-loop supply chain
Oversee by the Ministries of Justice and Health, the program relies on licensed private producers rather than state-run production. In the ten municipalities involved, participation is mandatory for all coffeeshops. Amsterdam, which is home to a large proportion of the country’s coffeeshops, is, strangely enough, not among them.
The producers were selected from among 149 applicants following a review of their applications, a random drawing, and an integrity screening. The tenth and final entrant in the race, Legacy Brands, began operations in February 2026. Two of them are now controlled by publicly traded Canadian companies: Leli Holland, which is 80% owned by Village Farms, and CanAdelaar, which Cronos Group completed its acquisition of on October 15.
Each product is registered by both producers and coffee shops, and the Justice and Security Inspectorate is responsible for ensuring that nothing leaves the system. Import and export remain prohibited (cannabisindustrie.nl).
Years behind schedule
As part of the 2017 coalition agreement, the program has been postponed several times because producers were unable to supply sufficient volumes, quality, and diversity. In particular, the transition phase had to be extended. The program entered its main phase in April 2025, with a planned duration of four years, followed by a phase of phasing out unless otherwise decided (cannabisindustrie.nl).
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 2029 | Government Decision on Next Steps |
| Summer 2028 | Final Report of the Evaluation Committee |
| November 11, 2026 | Committee debate in the Chamber of Deputies |
| September 9, 2026 | Publication of the First Evaluation |
| February 2026 | The tenth producer begins deliveries |
| September 1, 2025 | End of Tolerance for Unregulated Hashish |
| April 7, 2025 | Start of the pilot phase: Only regulated cannabis is permitted |
| June 17, 2024 | Transition phase in the ten cities |
| December 15, 2023 | Start-up phase in Breda and Tilburg |
An expanded offering, with effects that are not yet apparent
Conducted by Breuer&Intraval, RAND Europe, and the Trimbos Institute on behalf of the Ministry of Justice’s Research Center (WODC), the first evaluation covers the period from April 2025 to the first quarter of 2026. The researchers compared the ten cities in the program with ten control cities that remained under the tolerance policy, and analyzed the menus of 134 coffeeshops (cannabisindustrie.nl).
| Indicator (program cities) | Baseline Measure (2022) | 2025–2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Average number of grass varieties offered | 10,8 | 34,2 |
| Coffee shops that sell edible products | 34 % | 94 % |
| Coffee shops that sell concentrates | 17 % | 70 % |
| Average price of marijuana, per gram | 12,06 € | 10,08 € |
| Average price of hashish, per gram | 11,68 € | 21,12 € |
The most notable changes concern the supply—which is significantly more diverse—and the price of marijuana, which has fallen slightly. The price of hashish, on the other hand, has nearly doubled, as its origin and quality are now quite different, with much higher quality. Previously, or until recently, it was fairly easy to find a wide variety of traditional hashish from Morocco, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, or other distant regions at more affordable prices. However, it must be acknowledged that today’s various cannabis extracts, such as modern hash, demonstrate a much higher standard of perceived quality.
With regard to coffeeshop attendance, consumption, health, safety, and quality of life, the study found no clear difference compared with the control cities. The illegal market persists, with its customers citing lower prices and the ability to purchase larger quantities as the main reasons. The researchers believe the observation period is still too short to draw conclusions about the program’s effects.
Parliament Faces a Crucial Test
Rob Jetten’s government, which has been in office since February 2026, confirmed in its coalition agreement that the program would be continued and evaluated (cannabisindustrie.nl). On November 11, the House of Representatives’ Justice and Security Committee will hold a debate on drug policy, with this evaluation currently the only item on the agenda (cannabisindustrie.nl).
Several issues are likely to fuel the discussions: the possible expansion of the program to other cities, the price of legal hashish compared to the illegal market, and the acquisition of stakes in producers by foreign publicly traded companies. When asked about full legalization, Cronos Group CEO Mike Gorenstein estimated that it would require at least three or four additional cultivation sites.
No substantive decision is expected in the near term. Three more annual assessments are scheduled to be released by 2028, followed by a final report in the summer of 2028 and a government decision expected in 2029.
What's Changing for Consumers
In the ten cities in question, all products sold now come from licensed and identified producers. In addition to marijuana and hashish, the vast majority of coffeeshops now offer edibles and concentrates, a product line that was previously limited.
Elsewhere in the country, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, the tolerance policy remains in effect, and coffeeshops continue to source their supplies from the illegal market.
For foreign visitors, the program does not change the existing rules: sales remain restricted to adults and are limited in quantity. Some municipalities, particularly those along the border, also restrict access to coffeeshops for non-residents.
A still-incomplete progress report
Eighteen months after the transition to an exclusively legal supply chain, the Dutch program has profoundly changed the product offerings at participating coffeeshops, with traceable and more varied products. However, the price of legal hashish, the persistence of the illegal market, and the lack of a measurable impact on health and safety remain open questions.
The parliamentary debate on November 11 should provide an initial indication of political intentions. The full assessment is not expected until 2028, and the future of legal cannabis in the Netherlands is not expected to be decided until 2029. Of course, here SILENT SEEDS, we are closely following developments in this story.
This article is provided for informational purposes only. Cannabis laws vary by country: in France, the use and cultivation of cannabis containing THC remain prohibited.
