Drug Legalisation Netherlands

“All recent policy documents indicate that Dutch drug policy has two cornerstones – and this was confirmed by the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport during the great debate on drugs in the House of Representatives in March 2012: protecting public health and combating public harassment and drug-related crime (TK 24077-259; TK Handelingen 69-28 maart 2012). The current Opium Act Directive describes the objective of drug policy as follows: “The [new] Dutch drug policy aims to discourage and reduce drug use, in particular as it harms health and society, and to prevent and reduce the harm associated with drug use, to the production and trafficking of drugs” (Stc 2011-11134). The Netherlands is a party to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. The 1961 Convention prohibits the cultivation of and trafficking in natural drugs such as cannabis; the 1971 Treaty prohibits the manufacture of and trafficking in synthetic drugs such as barbiturates and amphetamines; And the 1988 Convention obliges states to criminalize illegal possession of drugs: it is a criminal offence to produce, possess, sell, import or export hard drugs or cannabis. However, it is not a crime to use drugs. On 25 April 2008, the Dutch government, supported by a majority of MEPs, decided to ban the cultivation and use of all magic mushrooms. Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen proposed a three-day cooling phase during which customers would be notified three days before the mushrooms were actually bought, and if they still wanted to, they could pick up their spurs in the smart store. [55] [56] The ban was seen as a withdrawal from Liberal drug policy. [57] This followed fatal incidents involving mainly tourists. [58] These deaths were not directly caused by the use of the drug itself, but by fatal accidents under the influence of magic mushrooms. No. Contrary to what is generally believed abroad and widely used on the Internet, all drugs are banned in the Netherlands. Cafes are allowed to sell five grams of cannabis under strict conditions without being prosecuted, and no legal action is taken for possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use.

Tops said the legalization of drug use in the Netherlands was a fundamental mistake that, nearly 30 years later, has led to serious consequences. “The reality is that, on the one hand, we allow people to legally buy drugs in the so-called cafes, but on the other hand, we prohibit the owners of these stores from buying these soft drugs,” Tops explains. “It`s a schizophrenic situation, but somehow we`ve managed to live like this for over 30 years,” he adds. In the Netherlands, there is currently a debate about possible problems with the system, he says. “The next step in the criminal justice chain is the prosecution. Note that a police report is a different administrative unit from a case registration of the Public Prosecutor`s Office. In 2011, the number of opium law cases increased compared to 2010, especially soft drug cases. The increase is considerable. The percentage of soft drug cases increased in 2011, while the percentage of hard drug cases decreased.

More than half of the cases (53%) are now soft drugs. The majority of cases under the Opium Act (60%) concern the production, trafficking or trafficking of drugs, 40% the possession of drugs (not in the table). The figures do not show how high the amount of drugs was in cases of “drug possession”. General enforcement policy states that if possession involves “small amounts for personal use,” a police release or prosecution for misuse of care may follow. Drugs will always be confiscated. But if someone owns more of a drug than the small amount that is considered “for personal use” – and could be destined for trafficking – or if it is also another more serious crime, arrest and prosecution are the rule. The available data do not distinguish between the possession of small quantities for personal use or larger quantities that could be intended for supply. For hard drugs, 44% were for production or trafficking and 46% for possession of hard drugs in 2011 (not in the table). In the case of soft drugs, these fractions are different: 74% are for production or trafficking and 26% for possession (not in the table).

“The percentage of opium cases in all cases in 2011 is 7.6%. This is the first increase since 2005. The Netherlands is one of the world`s leading manufacturers of synthetic drugs, says Pieter Tops. As a country that has reached an important advocacy centre in the reform of its drug laws, this report deserves close scrutiny. Dutch drug policy is guided by the idea that everyone can decide the affairs of their own health. The Dutch consider this rule to be fundamental and accept, for example, the possibility of controlled suicide (euthanasia) for terminally ill patients. However, this is also possible in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and parts of the United States. Another idea that guides Dutch laws in their drug policy is the belief that hiding negative social phenomena does not make them disappear – on the contrary, they aggravate them, because when they are hidden, they become much more difficult to influence and control. The second reason, Tops says, is the tolerant attitude of government and society toward drugs and their use. “As a result, we are not investing in strong law enforcement agencies to combat illegality.

In the Netherlands, relatively few people currently die from drug overdoses: in 2016, there were 250 deaths. In a country of 17 million people, that`s almost nothing, Tops says. Certainly not. Drug use in this country is average compared to other European countries. The number of drug addicts and victims is one of the lowest in Europe. Far fewer people have been convicted of selling or using drugs than in other countries, decriminalizing drug use and selling soft drugs in cafes. In addition, the number of drug-related deaths in the Netherlands is only 2.4 per million inhabitants, the lowest in Europe. An ecstasy pill produced in the Netherlands for around €0.20 can be sold on the streets of Australia – for example in Sydney – for €18 (A$29),” says Tops. Dutch authorities estimate that Dutch criminals will receive at least €900 million of the €19 billion from drug sales. The rest of the money leaves the country with the drugs. “To be honest, we have to admit that we have no idea where the rest of the money ends up,” tops says.

“People who use drugs can be convicted if they have committed a crime such as selling drugs, theft or burglary. Since 2004, a special law – the Law on Placement in an Institution for Productive Offenders – has allowed for the treatment of repeat offenders, of whom problematic drug addicts make up a large part.