Press release May 17, 2000

 

Coffee shops and other 'points of sale' in the Netherlands

 

HNN-comment: The following summary of information from the Intraval report 'Coffeeshops Geteld' provides some most interesting information about the disastrous Dutch drug policy on so-called 'soft' drugs, i.e. marijuana, hashish and Nederwiet (Dutch marijuana). The report shows that there are at least 2.441 outlets of various types for sale of the so-called 'soft drugs'.

 

In 117 municipalities there are other points of sale of soft drugs at which hard drugs are also sold: a total of 551 points of sale. In 85 per cent of these 117 municipalities this concerns the sale of cocaine, in 62 per cent heroin, and in 51 per cent Ecstasy. In addition, of the municipalities with other points of sale that also sell so-called 'hard' drugs, in 31 per cent amphetamines are sold, and in seven per cent cooked cocaine or crack.

 

It is interesting to note that information about the supply of cannabis products to the various 'sales points' and turnover in coffee shops is lacking.

 

If the following is a success story, anything is a success story.

 

The Dutch Ministry of Justice (WODC) commissioned the research and advice bureau INTRAVAL to conduct research on the numbers of coffee shops and other points of sales of cannabis (marihuana, hashish and weed) in the Netherlands. In addition, this research devoted attention to the policies of the Dutch municipalities and the maintenance of the policy criteria.

 

The information, published in March this year, is the most up-to-date information available at the moment.

 

The following issues were addressed:

• How many coffee shops and other points of sale of cannabis were there in the Netherlands at the end of 1999?
• In how many municipalities is there evidence of zero option, i.e. no coffee shops at all?
• To what extent are the AHOJ-G criteria and the 500 gram stock limit [of drugs] maintained?

 

To find out, the following methods were used:

• Telephone survey with employees of all of the 538 municipalities in the Netherlands, in which questions were asked about the number of coffee shops, the local authorities' policies, and the addresses of the coffee shops
• Telephone survey with 241 police officers in 538 municipalities, in which questions were asked about the number of coffee shops, similar points of sale (cafes or bars, shops), and other points of sale (private houses, courier services) and about the implementation of the local and national policies
• Telephone survey with representatives of all 19 districts of the Public Prosecution Service, in which questions were asked about the level of implementation of the AHOJ-G criteria and the 500 gram stock [of drugs] limit.

 

The results of the surveys were compared with the data of the research project 'Cannabis in de Nederland' (bieleman et al. 1997), in which civil servants from 116 municipalities and police officers from 30 local authorities were surveyed.

 

In the 1999 report, 'Coffeeshops Geteld - Aantallen verkooppunten van cannabis in Nederland', a distinction is made between the following points of sale:

 

Coffee shops

According to the Public Prosecution Service, a coffee shop is an alcohol-free café establishment where so-called 'soft drugs' [marijuana, hashish and Nederwiet] are sold and used. According to this definition, establishments were alcohol is sold are not labelled as coffee shops. However, this definition is not (yet) used by all local authorities. As was the case in the 'Cannabis in Nederland' research, it was left to the local authorities themselves to decide which establishments they views as coffee shops. Increasingly more towns now use the same definition, based on the AHOJ-G criteria: no advertising (affichering), no so-called 'hard' drugs, no nuisance (overlast), no sale to youths under 18 (jongeren), and no sale of amounts exceeding 5 grams (grote hoeveelheden). The prohibition of the sale of alcohol is the only criterion that is not (yet) applied everywhere.

 

Of the 538 municipalities in the Netherlands, 105 (20 per cent) have one or more coffee shops: a total of 846 coffee shops. 52 per cent (443) of these coffee shops are located in the four largest cities [Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, the Hague]. The number of coffee shops decreased between 1997 and 1999. In the 116 municipalities that were surveyed in 1997, there were 1.019 coffee shops. In 1999, there were 796 coffee shops in those municipalities: a decrease of 22 per cent.

 

On of the toleration criteria applied by the Public Prosecution Service is the prohibition of the sale of alcohol in the same premises where so-called 'soft' drugs are sold. 14 per cent of the coffee shops did not adhere to this criterion. These 119 coffee shops are spread across ten municipalities.

 

One per cent of the Dutch coffee shops are also grow shops, and 20 per cent of the coffee shops also sell smart drugs.

 

Similar points of sale

Similar points of sale are all establishments other than coffee shops (according to the local authority's definition) where cannabis products are sold and used. This category consists of other catering establishments (cafes, fast food shops and the like), shops and 'social cultural establishments'. The sale of so-called 'soft' drugs does not form the main activity of these establishments [as do the coffee shops].

 

At the end of 1999, there were 62 Dutch municipalities that each had a total of at least 145 similar points of sale. Three quarters (73 per cent) of these points of sale were café type establishments. Similar points of sale are found primarily in municipalities in which there are coffee shops. 42 per cent of the municipalities in which there are coffee shops also have similar points of sale, while only 15 per cent of the municipalities without coffee shops have similar points of sale. More than half (56 per cent) of the 147 similar points of sale are found in smaller municipalities (with less than 50.000 residents), while coffee shops are concentrated in the larger municipalities.

 

Like the number of coffee shops, the number of similar points of sale decreased between 1997 and 1999. In the 30 municipalities that were surveyed in 1997 there were 150 similar points of sale. In 1999 there were 36 similar points of sale, a decrease of 76 per cent.

 

Other points of sale

This category refers to all points of sale that are ot in a public establishment, such as private houses, sale on the street, courier services and take-away services.

 

There are at least 1.450 other points of sale of cannabis in the Netherlands. These points of sale are spread across 246 municipalities. Almost half (46 per cent) of the other points of sale are private houses, and a quarter (23 per cent) are street dealers. Municipalities in which there are no coffee shops often have other points of sale. 55 per cent of the municipalities with no coffee shops have other points of sale, while this is the case in 24 per cent of local authorities with coffee shops. Other points of sale are usually found outside the urban conglomeration I the west of the Netherlands. The majority of Dutch municipalities in the vicinity of the national borders have one or more other points of sale.

 

 

Smart shops

Smart shops are shops that sell so-called eco-drugs (XTC substitutes, euphoric and 'relaxing' substances), mushrooms, energy drinks and the like, and where there are sometimes facilities for the use of these drugs.

 

At the end of 1999, 77 smart shops and 106 grow shops were found in the Netherlands. In the municipalities with less than 20.000 residents and in those with more than 200.000 residents there were hardly any smart shops or grow shops. Smart shops are found primarily in the municipalities with between 50.000 and 200.000 residents, and grow shops in municipalities with between 20.000 and 200.000 residents.

 

Grow shops

Grow shops, also known as head shops, are shops that sell the equipment necessary for growing cannabis at home, and paraphernalia for smoking cannabis.

 

POLICY

A majority of the Dutch municipalities have developed a policy to regulate the number of coffee shos within their jurisdiction. The following types of policy can be distinguished:

• Zero policy (the zero option), where there are no coffee shops in the municipality and none are permitted;
• Maximum system, where the number of coffee shops permitted is limited;
• Reduction policy, where the number of coffee shops should be reduced, but where the municipality has not yet set a maximum number;
• Eradication policy, where the number of coffee shops should be reduced sharply, sometimes through an active policy. A zero policy or a maximum policy often follows such an eradication policy;
• A policy of discouragement, where the municipality attempts to stop the unlimited establishment of new coffee shops and to reduce the number of existing coffee shops by establishing criteria to which coffee shops must adhere;
• The 'Bussum model', where one or more points of cannabis sale are organised in a foundation established for that purpose (!!)

 

Eight per cent of the 538 Dutch municipalities do not have any policy regarding coffee shops. The majority of municipalities [72 per cent) have a zero policy, while 15 per cent have a maximum policy.

 

Of all municipalities in the Netherlands, 12 per cent have one or more similar points of cannabis sale and 46 per cent have one or more other points of cannabis sale. In the municipalities that have a zero policy, these percentages are somewhat lower: nine per cent have one or more similar points of cannabis sale and 42 per cent have one or more other points of cannabis sale.

 

AHOJ-G CRITERIA

The Public Prosecution Service has established a number of criteria that coffee shops must adhere to (see above).

 

The criteria are used in all 19 districts of the Public Prosecution Service. Adherence to these criteria is montored by carrying out checks in a sample of coffee shops. In addition, checks are carried out when there are reports of nuisance or when there is a suspicion that criteria are not being observed.

 

The local authority civil servants and police officers in the 105 local authorities that have coffee shops were asked whether the various criteria are adhered to. In the majority of municipalities this appears to be the case. No hard drugs and no nuisance are the criteria adhered to most: in 98 per cent of the municipalities these criteria are met. The criteria concerning the 500 gram stock [of drugs] limit is adhered to least.

 

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