Part of: Closed coffeeshop chain experiment
Declared controversial, start of the experimental phase, the hashish exemption, the 2026-2030 coalition agreement and the state of play.
2025 at a glance
7 April 2025 — Start of the experimental phase
The experimental phase of the Dutch cannabis experiment officially began. Coffeeshops in participating municipalities may sell only regulated cannabis. Because the supply of regulated hashish was still insufficient, illegal hashish was not yet enforced against in the first two months — illegal cannabis flower, however, was enforced against from day one.
10 June 2025 — Full enforcement
From this date only regulated hashish may be sold as well (the exemption was officially extended until 1 September 2025).
26 June 2025 — Declared controversial
The House of Representatives officially declared the Cannabis Experiment controversial. The caretaker cabinet will take no further political decisions on it; the national continuation phase is on hold for now. Important: the experiment cannot be cancelled either — a caretaker cabinet may not reverse course or halt the experiment.
See also: List of controversial topics 2025 (Dutch).
1 September 2025 — End of the hashish exemption
From this date the temporary exemption is definitively ended and participating coffeeshops may sell only regulated hashish.
What this means
In practice: the chain runs on, growers supply, coffeeshops sell, regulators inspect. For policy: pause mode until a new cabinet is formed. Until then, participants are gathering — in practice — what works and what hurts, which is exactly the point of an experiment.
Coalition agreement and political context
On 30 January 2026 D66, VVD and CDA presented the coalition agreement "Aan de slag — Bouwen aan een beter Nederland" ("Getting to work — Building a better Netherlands"). In the section 'Sober policy: drugs, gambling, sex work' the experiment is explicitly continued:
The closed cannabis supply chain experiment is intended to examine whether regulation translates into greater safety and health. We are continuing the experiment, evaluating it and deciding on next steps on that basis.
What the agreement does say:
- Continuation of the experiment is confirmed.
- An independent evaluation remains the anchor point for any further decisions.
- A tightly regulated tolerance policy remains the rule for soft drugs.
What the agreement does not say:
- No explicit reservation of funds for a continuation after 2029.
- No directional statements on structural regulation or legalisation.
- No decision on what happens if the evaluation only appears at the end of 2028 and the experimental phase ends in April 2029.
That makes scenario development for the period after 2029/2030 all the more urgent — see the knowledge base for the detail.
Cannabis Act and Coalition agreement Rutte III
The political history of the experiment begins in 2017 with Vera Bergkamp's (D66) Cannabis Act and the Rutte III coalition agreement. The full run-up is on the history page timeline.
News in this dossier
The latest news and updates on the Cannabis Experiment — from new policy changes to results from participating municipalities.
Earlier reports in this dossier
Reporting from the former knowledge platform wietexperiment.com on the run-up to and the start of the experimental phase.
- 26 June 2025Cannabis Experiment declared controversialThe House of Representatives has officially declared the Cannabis Experiment controversial, meaning the current caretaker government will take no further political decisions on it.
- 7 April 2025Starting today: the Dutch Cannabis Experiment is officially under wayOn 7 April 2025 the experimental phase of the Dutch cannabis experiment officially began, testing whether a fully closed and regulated chain – from grower to coffeeshop – can address the structural problems of the current tolerance policy.
- 17 March 2025Government sticks to 7 April start of the closed cannabis supply chainThe Dutch cabinet is keeping the planned start date of 7 April 2025 for the closed coffeeshop supply chain experiment, despite ongoing concerns from operators, growers and local administrators.
- 11 December 2024Final start date for the experimental phase confirmed: 7 April 2025The experimental phase of the Closed Coffeeshop Supply Chain Experiment starts on 7 April 2025. From that date, coffeeshops in the ten participating municipalities may only sell regulated cannabis products.
- 6 November 2024The Dutch Cannabis Experiment: an update on recent developments and challengesAn overview of the lead-in phase in Breda and Tilburg, Amsterdam's possible participation and the designation of the tenth grower.
- 4 November 2024Research report on international cannabis policy presented to the House of RepresentativesOn 8 October 2024 the WODC research centre, on behalf of the Ministries of Justice & Security and of Health, Welfare and Sport, presented the report 'International developments in cannabis policy for recreational use' to the Dutch House of Representatives.
- 5 August 2024Update: postponement of the experimental phase of the Closed Coffeeshop Supply Chain ExperimentA recent letter to the House of Representatives sets out important information about the experiment, which is currently in the transition phase across the ten participating municipalities.