This is an English translation. The original Dutch article is authoritative.
On 29 October 2025, the Netherlands will head to the polls again. For the coffeeshop sector, these elections are more important than ever. The new cabinet will decide on the future coffeeshop policy. They will oversee the evaluation of the closed coffeeshop supply chain experiment, and will determine on that basis whether the Netherlands will actually opt for national regulation or not.
The House of Representatives has officially declared the cannabis experiment controversial. This means that the current cabinet will no longer take political decisions regarding this matter. The planned debate on 3 July will therefore not take place.
More importantly: this also means the experiment cannot be terminated. A demissionary cabinet may not initiate a change of course or shut down the experiment. This offers protection and time.
For us, this is exactly what we have stated before: a pause mode. Operations continue on the ground, but policy and politics will only move again once a new cabinet is in place. Until then, we continue to set the course and ensure that practical experiences, bottlenecks, and successes are recorded and shared.
read also: Lijst controversiele onderwerpen vastgesteld 2025