The VVD faction of Groningen’s city council doesn’t want to pay for the initiative
The VVD faction in Groningen (of Dutch PM Mark Rutte) wants to bring an end to the ‘legal supply’ marijuana experiment currently occuring in the city. During the experiment, which should be held between 2021 and 2024, coffee shops in Groningen will be able to receive weed from growers that have been approved by the government.
Many municipal councilors now are opposed to the experiment because the municipality of Groningen has to pay the costs of it, while the intention was initially for the government to bear the costs of the experiment, as the Dagblad van het Noorden reports.
The issue will be discussed during a meeting of the city council on Wednesday.
The experiment will be held in several cities in The Netherlands. Groningen was one of the municipalities that had applied to take part. The aim of the experiment is to investigate whether there can be an alternative to the current situation in which weed sales are permitted, but the supply of coffee shops is not regulated clearly.
Thanks to the test, there could be more clarity about the delivery, and the industry should also become more transparent. But now that Groningen has to pay the costs of the trial itself, many councilors feel that it should not be allowed to go ahead, or that legalisation of the trade should occur on a national level.