One of the reasons that I really enjoy living in Holland is that you cannot beat Dutch pragmatisim. Following is an excerpt of an article in the local press –
Utrecht city council wants to set up its own marijuana growing service to supply the city’s cannabis cafes, the NRC reports.
While selling small amounts of marijuana is tolerated, large-scale cultivation is illegal, creating a grey area between demand and supply.
In addition, there is no quality control with the current system and a risk of contamination, council officials say.
Grow your own
So the city wants to experiment with a new sort of coffee shop – the name for cannabis cafes – which would be members only and grow its own plants.
By law, the police turn a blind eye if people have up to five plants for personal use. So if each member of the coffee shop grows those five plants in the same greenhouse, the problem would be solved, the council argues.
The fine details still have to be worked out, but the city has said it will not operate the coffee shop or be in charge of weed production.