NL Times
Coffee shop owners will not be punished for selling illegal hash during the final stage of the legal cannabis experiment. This was confirmed by Minister of Justice David van Weel and State Secretary for Prevention Vincent Karremans.
The last phase of the experiment begins on April 7, next Monday. It was previously noted that coffee shop owners who are participating in the trial think that the date is not achievable because the supply of legal cannabis is not yet in order. The Cabinet and the mayors of the ten municipalities involved in the experiment decided to stick with the date anyway.
However, now the minister and state secretary are reporting that the rules against illegal cannabis will not be enforced until June 10. This has been done to give growers more time to improve the drug production and give coffeeshop owners the chance to expand their supply.
The postponement only applies to hash. The ban on sales of illegal weed will, therefore, be enforced from April 7.
So far, the sale of cannabis in coffee shops has been tolerated. Business owners were allowed to sell hash and weed without being prosecuted for it. However, the cultivation of narcotic drugs is prohibited.
Where the sold hash and weed come from and what exactly is in the products that the coffee shops sell is currently unclear. With the experiment, the government wants to investigate whether it is possible to regulate both the production, the distribution, and the sale of cannabis.
The results of the experiment “can contribute to decision making about future cannabis policies in the Netherlands,” the politicians said. The phase of the trial that begins on April 7 is scheduled to last for four years, and it could be extended by another year and a half. 
