Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Dutch drug policy from a regulatory perspective
AU - Spapens, Toine
AU - Muller, Thaddeus
AU - Van de Bunt, Henk
PY - 2015/3
Y1 - 2015/3
N2 - Starting in the 1970s, the Netherlands developed a regulatory regime for narcotic drugs by distinguishing between hashish and marihuana (“soft drugs”) and other drugs (“hard drugs”). The authorities decided to cease prosecuting the possession of consumer quantities of the former type and to allow the sale of soft drugs at “coffee shops”. However, they did little to control the activities of coffee shop operators, whereas the supply of soft drugs to the shops remained illegal. In this paper, we review the ongoing debate on the soft drug policy in the Netherlands and analyze it from the perspective of the regulation of illegal markets.
AB - Starting in the 1970s, the Netherlands developed a regulatory regime for narcotic drugs by distinguishing between hashish and marihuana (“soft drugs”) and other drugs (“hard drugs”). The authorities decided to cease prosecuting the possession of consumer quantities of the former type and to allow the sale of soft drugs at “coffee shops”. However, they did little to control the activities of coffee shop operators, whereas the supply of soft drugs to the shops remained illegal. In this paper, we review the ongoing debate on the soft drug policy in the Netherlands and analyze it from the perspective of the regulation of illegal markets.
KW - Coffee shops
KW - Drug policy
KW - Narcotic drugs
KW - Organized crime
KW - Regulation
U2 - 10.1007/s10610-014-9249-3
DO - 10.1007/s10610-014-9249-3
M3 - Journal article
VL - 21
SP - 191
EP - 205
JO - European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research
JF - European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research
SN - 0928-1371
IS - 1
ER -