CURLF - Amsterdam Not Included In Government's Legal Cannabis Trial And More Marijuana Updates Across Europe | Benzinga
Over the last several years, Europe has become more open-minded about medical and recreational marijuana. Here are some of the latest cannabis developments from the Netherlands, Italy and The UK.
The Netherlands: Amsterdam Won't Join The Government's Legal Cannabis Trial
Members of the Netherlands Parliament voted against a proposal for an earlier end of the Dutch government's cannabis pilot project. At the same time, lawmakers denied a proposition to expand the experiment from 10 to 11 municipalities, so that the Amsterdam-Oost district in the capital could participate, reported NL Times.
Contrary to widespread belief, cannabis has not been legal in the Netherlands over this past decade; it has been tolerated. In December 2023, the Ministries of Public Health and Justice launched a legal cannabis experiment. This allowed growers and suppliers to operate legally across 10 municipalities and all coffee shops to participate so that the same rules apply to everyone. Under the trial program, cannabis cannot be sold to underaged people while the possession maximum of five grams applies to those in the Netherlands.
The project was set to last four years after which it would be decided if it should remain permanent or expended further.
Even though the experiment just started a couple of months ago, the motion to either permanently stop or temporarily halt it was brought by Diederik J.H. van Dijk, a politician of the Reformed Political Party. Party for Freedom, or PVV, now the biggest party in parliament ...