The Dutch drug policy from a regulatory perspective

A.C.M. Spapens; T.  Müller; H.G. Van de Bunt

doi:10.1007/s10610-014-9249-3

The Dutch drug policy from a regulatory perspective

A.C.M. Spapens, T. Müller, H.G. Van de Bunt

Department of Criminal Law

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Starting in the 1970s, the Netherlands developed a regulatory regime for narcotic drugs by distinguishing between hashish and marihuana (“soft drugs”) and other drugs (“hard drugs”). The authorities decided to cease prosecuting the possession of consumer quantities of the former type and to allow the sale of soft drugs at “coffee shops”. However, they did little to control the activities of coffee shop operators, whereas the supply of soft drugs to the shops remained illegal. In this paper, we review the ongoing debate on the soft drug policy in the Netherlands and analyze it from the perspective of the regulation of illegal markets.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	191-205
Number of pages	15
Journal	European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research
Volume	21
Issue number	1
Early online date	9 Jul 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-014-9249-3
Publication status	Published - 2015

Keywords

Coffee Shops
Drug Policy
Regulation
Narcotic Drugs
Organized Crime

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