Part of: Closed coffeeshop chain experiment
Phases at a glance
- 1 July 2020 — Experiment Act in force; selection of municipalities and growers.
- 2021–2023 — Preparatory phase: permitting, quality frameworks and track & trace.
- 15 December 2023 — Run-up phase in Breda and Tilburg: both tolerated and regulated products allowed.
- 17 June 2024 — Start of the transition phase in all ten participating municipalities.
- 7 April 2025 — Start of the experimental phase: only regulated products in participating coffeeshops.
- 1 September 2025 — End of the temporary hashish exemption; hashish only from designated growers as well.
- 2025–2029 — Experimental phase: four years, with up to eighteen months of possible extension.
- ~2029/2030 — Six-month phase-out, followed by evaluation and political decision-making.
Lead time sits in the chain
The phasing is mainly determined by the time needed to stabilise production, logistics and quality control. Political debates about deadlines run in parallel with the actual scale-up of cultivation.
And after the experimental phase?
At the end of the phase-out the participating coffeeshops return to the previous situation, unless the legislator decides — on the basis of the evaluation — to establish a permanent regulatory scheme. This is explicitly not an automatic continuation; new legislation and a new political decision are required.