Indopedia All Things Marijuana
Now, as part of the newly introduced pilot program bill, up to 10 municipalities could now welcome legal cannabis farming, offering a newly regulated supply chain for coffee shop bud. By finally bringing rules to the country’s weed market, Dutch lawmakers hope that the pilot program will eliminate at least some of the country’s illicit marijuana market.
As the legalization bill currently stands, cities across the country could apply to win a spot in the pilot program, with potential coffee shops and cultivators in the selected regions then subject to a public bidding process before they can be state-certified to begin either growing, distributing, or selling the sweet leaf.
Unlike the current situation in Amsterdam, where loose joints, hash, and edibles are sold without any oversight, the proposed pilot program would require government-approved product testing and standardized warning labels, much like those required by legal weed regulators in 420-friendly states across America.
The legislation also contains provisions for a widespread cannabis education campaign that will warn people about health risks associated with cannabis use and smoking in general. In addition to the public service announcements, the pilot program would include a six-month “reduction phase” that would eliminate the four-year old legal weed industry and see the grey market cannabis market “restored as it existed before the experiment.
