Dutch coffee shops and trends in cannabis use

What Can We Learn From The Portuguese Decriminalization of Illicit Drugs?

“…A second limit to the use of evidence in debates over drug regulation is the limited and variable evidence surrounding the impacts of these existing forms of liberalization. Where reforms that have been studied, different methods and approaches have been used (Model 1993;Donnelly et al 1995;McDonald and Atkinson 1995;Sutton and McMillan 1998;Lenton et al 1999;Single et al 2000;Solivetti 2001;Kilmer 2002;Korf 2002;Pacula et al 2004;Williams 2004;Featherston and Lenton 2007;Domrongplasit et al 2010;Reinarman 2009). To date, the major focus of analysis has been whether decriminalization leads to increases in the prevalence of drug use.…”

What Does it Mean to Decriminalize Marijuana? A Cross-National Empirical Examination

“…In 1976 a formal written policy of non-enforcement made the possession and sale of up to 30 grams of marijuana de facto legal even though the Netherlands technically retained its prohibitionist policy against marijuana (Korf, 2002). The policy basically stated that prosecutors and police would refrain from enforcing the law in those cases where the quantity possessed or sold did not exceed 30 grams.…”

“…In the 1990s, a licensing system was created that enables the government to limit the number and location of coffee shops, and hence to control where marijuana can be sold. In 1995, the formal non-enforcement policy was modified to reduce the quantity of marijuana that can be legally sold and/or possessed to 5 grams (Korf, 2002). Thus the Dutch policy has allowed a very small, moderately-regulated retail marijuana market to develop as a result of non-enforcement of the law while maintaining a statutory prohibition on marijuana use and supply.…”

New psychoactive substances: reducing the harm caused by untested drugs and an unregulated market

“…In some western countries, such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, growth started from low levels in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was followed by periods of stabilisation or decline, and then resurgence at the end of the century (Korf, 2002;Vicente et al, 2008 …”