Knowledge pagePolicy
Closed coffeeshop chain experiment
From legal basis to roll-out: everything you need to know about the closed coffeeshop chain experiment.
ReadDossiers, knowledge & insights
Dossiers & knowledge base
What is happening in the Dutch coffeeshop sector right now plus the topics behind the policy — current dossiers, history, context and the state of play in one place.
Evidence- based
Interactive timeline
1976
to today
50 years of coffeeshop policy
Whitepaper · BCD
A timeline of political decisions and their impact on coffeeshops
From the introduction of the tolerance policy in 1976 to the Cannabis Experiment — every law, motion and local policy choice that shaped the Dutch coffeeshop sector, on one interactive timeline (Dutch).
View timelineDossiers & knowledge base
Dossiers and topics
What is happening now and the knowledge behind it — search by keyword.
Knowledge page
Knowledge page
Industry
HOP — Hospitality Development Platform
The Dutch hospitality sector's development fund under the hospitality collective labour agreement — and what the levy and HOP invoices mean for coffeeshops.
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Knowledge pageLicensing
Scarce licences
A tolerance declaration is not a licence under the EU Services Directive. Scarcity arises because municipalities cap the number themselves — and that does not create an obligation to run lotteries or periodic redistribution. Norm-setting is possible instead of capping.
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Knowledge pagePolicy
Residents criterion (I-criterion)
From the Josémans ruling until today — where the residents criterion still applies and what its effects are.
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Knowledge pageOperations
Coffeeshops and banking
Bank relationships, cash, card payments and value transport — the six core issues behind the sector's banking problems.
ReadOur editorial method
- Each dossier separates the official primary source (statute, regulation, judgment, municipal policy) from our own analysis; our position is labelled separately as "BCD position".
- A source's date can be older than the date we reviewed the content; we state both dates separately where they are known.
- Spotted an inaccuracy? Report it via the contact page; we correct the text and note the new review date.
- Member attachments remain behind the member login and never appear in public dossiers or feeds.