The Netherlands: Tightening Up of the Cafés Policy

Abstract

In 1976, following a radical amendment of the Opium Act, the Netherlands adopted a drug policy based on two principles:

Drug use is considered to be primarily a public health issue rather than a judicial problem. The use of drugs is therefore not a statutory offence, although the possession of certain listed substances is prohibited.

A distinction is made between ‘hard’ drugs, which involve an unacceptable degree of risk (drugs such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamine arc scheduled on the annex list 1 of the Opium Act), and hemp products, which are known as ‘soft’ drugs and scheduled on list 2. The penalties for possession of listed substances or for importing, exporting or trafficking in them differ accordingly as to whether the substance in question is a hard drug or a cannabis product. Possession of less than 30 grams of hemp, for instance, is a summary offence liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding one month, whereas possession of any hard drug is indictable.