The cannabis legalization pilot in the Netherlands has so far led to a more diversified product market, according to a preliminary report produced by Trimbos Institute, BreuerIntraval, and RAND Europe on behalf of the Dutch Research and Data Centre and the Ministries of Justice and Security, and of Health, Welfare and Sport and outlined by Forbes.
Operators participating in the pilot, which launched in April, reported improvements in registration, monitoring, and more standardized procedures for cultivation, transport, and sale, as well as greater overall transparency; however, they also noted some product shortages and differing interpretations of pilot-related regulations.
The report also found a decline in flower prices in municipalities participating in the pilot, but an increase in hash prices. Pre-roll prices increased slightly in both participating and non-participating municipalities.
The number of visitors to coffeeshops that sold cannabis and the frequency of those visits did not change significantly after the launch of the pilot, according to the report, but the authors found that visitors to coffeeshops in participating municipalities rated “the price-to-quality ratio of cannabis more positively than before.”
People who lived near the participating coffeeshops also generally rated the quality of their neighborhood positively – a positive sign considering 2023 protests in Amsterdam over the presence of cannabis tourists.
The research included 85 interviews with municipalities, coffeeshop owners, growers, supervisory authorities, and other stakeholders; 865 coffeeshop visitors and 441 people who lived or worked near coffeeshops. The researchers also assessed the number of visitors at 143 coffeeshops, analyzed product offerings and menu prices from 134 coffeeshops, and collected information about illicit cannabis market purchases via an online survey.
A full report on the pilot is expected in 2028.
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