High time: Dutch savour legal pot trial

BREDA - Cannabis smokers in two Dutch cities can light up legally for the first time Friday, as authorities roll out a trial that would expand the nation's tolerance of marijuana to full legality.

"Historic moment," said Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers as he scanned the first box of legal cannabis in the "Baron" coffee shop in the southern city of Breda.

A great misconception abroad is that dope is already legal in the Netherlands -- home to the world-famous coffee shops (which actually sell pot) and seen as a huge draw for cannabis smokers.

But in fact, the drug exists in a legal grey area, which the government hopes to stub out with the four-year trial starting in Breda and nearby Tilburg and expanding to other parts of the country.

The consumption of small quantities of cannabis is technically illegal but police choose not to enforce the law as part of a so-called "tolerance" policy in place since the 1970s. 

However, the production of cannabis and supply to coffee shops is both illegal and not tolerated, meaning producers and coffee shop owners have to operate in the shadows.

This has led to gangs getting involved, with a related rise in petty crime and anti-social behaviour that local officials hope to stop with the legal pot experiment.

"Criminal organisations took over that criminal market and therefore coffee shop owners were depending on the criminal market and that had to stop," Breda mayor Paul Depla told AFP.

- 'No oversight' -

Production will be limited to a handful of farms, whose cannabis will be closely monitored before supply to coffee shops.

Consumers are guaranteed a high-quality product, whereas before it was impossible to know where the cannabis came from -- or whether it had been altered.

"The product will be clean, tested, pesticide-free," said Ashwin Matai, "cultivation director" at the Holland High farm that will supply coffee shops legally from February.

"We know exactly what comes in, what comes out so the consumer will get a much safer product," the 34-year-old told AFP, clad in protective equipment.

The level of THC and CBD, the active ingredients of cannabis, will also be measured, so users will know how strong their joint is.

"From a public health perspective, we had no oversight of the process, we could not do any checks on any potential contamination of the products," Kuipers said.

"Now we can do all that," he added.

The Dutch move comes amid a general trend of decriminalising the use of cannabis.

Neighbouring Germany has approved a law legalising the purchase and possession of cannabis for recreational use. Adults can have up to 25 grammes and grow up to three plants.

The drug is available in some pharmacies in Switzerland, which is also flirting with decriminalising its recreational use.

Adult recreational use of Cannabis is already legal in about 20 American states.

During the Dutch experiment, independent researchers will monitor the trial with a view to eventual decriminalisation.

One unknown hanging over this policy -- and indeed all policies -- is the Geert Wilders factor, after the far-right leader won elections last month.

His PVV Freedom Party wants to scrap the "tolerance" policy for good, close coffee shops, and push for a "drug-free Netherlands."

They were placed bottom of the parties to vote for in the last election by "cannabis-kieswijzer.nl", a website that ranks political parties by their cannabis-friendly policies.

Asked whether the trial could lead to legalising other drugs, Depla was cautious. 

"Let's start with the legalisation of cannabis and then we can see what will happen because I think some people are also afraid it will... lead to more people being addicted," he said,

"I think one thing is for sure. Everybody is glad that we can say farewell to the policy which was hypocrital and not logical."

jcp-ric/jm

By Julie Capelle