This is an English translation. The original Dutch article is authoritative.
Ministers Grapperhaus (J&V) and Bruins (VWS) sent a written response to the House on 30 May following the consultation on the closed coffeeshop supply chain experiment. The text and the answers to the questions are provided below.
The standing committee for Justice and Security submitted a number of questions and remarks to us regarding the letters dated 23 February 2018 and 9 March 2018 concerning the closed coffeeshop supply chain experiment and the research report ‘International law and cannabis II’ (Parliamentary document 24077, nos. 410 and 411). You will find our response to these questions and remarks in the attachment.
The process of setting up the experiment is progressing step by step without losing sight of due diligence. On 9 March, we informed your House about the planning and lead times of the experiment. For example, we reported that the advisory committee was requested to issue its advice in report form by 31 May 2018 at the latest and that the committee will submit a written recommendation of six to ten municipalities for participation in the experiment in the autumn of 2018. The advisory committee has now informed us that it will present the report to us in June.
As reported in the letter of 9 March 2018, the experiment will consist of three phases: a preparation phase, an experimental phase, and a phase-out phase. In principle, a preparation phase of six months is assumed, noting that this is a provisional, rough indication. We want to ensure that the preparations for the experiment (designation of grower(s), cultivation, preparations at the local level, etc.) have actually been completed before the experimental phase can commence. The draft legislative text provides for a period of four years for the experimental phase. The evaluation will take place at the end of the experimental phase so that further decision-making based on this evaluation can take place before the start of the phase-out phase. A period of six months is provided for the phase-out phase. The phase-out phase is intended to prevent participants in the experiment from immediately acting in violation of the law after the end of the experimental phase. This in no way anticipates the outcome of the evaluation and further decision-making based on this evaluation. In the event that a subsequent cabinet and parliament decide to convert the experiment into generally applicable legislation, the law includes the possibility to extend the experiment by a maximum of one and a half years, so that, including the six-month phase-out period, the duration of both phases will be a maximum of six years.
Prior to answering the questions posed by the parliamentary groups, we would further like to note that we cannot always answer these questions concretely yet, because the legislative proposal on the basis of which the experiment can be prepared and implemented has not yet been submitted to the House of Representatives and we do not wish to anticipate its contents further. In addition, we are still awaiting the advice of the Advisory Committee for the closed coffeeshop supply chain experiment regarding the design of the experiment.
The Minister of Justice and Security, Ferd Grapperhaus and The Minister for Medical Care and Sport, Bruno Bruins