The Cannabis Market in the Netherlands

Abstract

Although Dutch policy on soft drugs (hashish, marijuana) generally has long been considered a success, there is a growing concern among policy makers about the unforeseen side effects of regulation policies. One of these side effects is the large-scale domestic cannabis cultivation, which, according to the Dutch police, has developed into a major source of income for organized crime groups since the second half of the 1990s. Such groups, however, are not the only actors on the cannabis market. This paper discusses empirical research on the organization of cannabis cultivation in the south of the Netherlands.