Is cannabis legal in the Netherlands?
I live in the Netherlands, and I enjoy the soft drugs policy 😉 Possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use has been decriminalized in the Netherlands. The sale of cannabis is technically an offence under the Opium Act, but prosecutorial guidelines provide that proceedings will only be instituted in certain situations. An operator or owner of a coffee shop (which is not permitted to sell alcohol) will avoid prosecution if he/she meets the following criteria: -no more than 5 grams per person may be sold in any one transaction; -no hard drugs may be sold; -drugs may not be advertised; -the coffee shop must not cause any nuisance; -no drugs can be sold to minors (under age 18), nor may minors enter the premises; -the municipality has not ordered the establishment closed. Separating the markets by allowing people to purchase soft drugs in a setting where they are not exposed to the criminal subculture surrounding hard drugs is intended to create a social barrier that prevents
