page_title: Drug policy
section_title: Netherlands
hierarchical_section_title: Drug policy / Drug policy by country / Netherlands
caption_attribution_description: Coffeshop Pick Up The Pieces, Oude Hoogstraat 5, Amsterdam. One of the many coffee shops in Amsterdam
context_page_description: A drug policy is the policy, usually of a government, regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances, particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. Governments try to combat drug addiction or dependence with policies that address both the demand and supply of drugs, as well as policies that mitigate the harms of drug use, and for medical treatment. Demand reduction measures include voluntary treatment, rehabilitation, substitution therapy, overdose management, alternatives to incarceration for drug related minor offenses, medical prescription of drugs, awareness campaigns, community social services, and support for families. Supply side reduction involves measures such as enacting foreign policy aimed at eradicating the international cultivation of plants used to make drugs and interception of drug trafficking, fines for drug offenses, incarceration for persons convicted for drug offenses. Policies that help mitigate drug use include needle syringe programs and drug substitution programs, and free facilities for testing a drug's purity.
  Drugs subject to control vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
context_section_description: Drug policy in the Netherlands is based on two principles: that drug use is a health issue, not a criminal issue, and that there is a distinction between hard and soft drugs.  The Netherlands is currently the only country to have implemented a wide scale, but still regulated, decriminalisation of marijuana. It was also one of the first countries to introduce heroin-assisted treatment and safe injection sites. From 2008, a number of town councils have closed many so called coffee shops that sold cannabis or implemented other new restrictions for sale of cannabis, e.g. for foreigners.
  Importing and exporting of any classified drug is a serious offence. The penalty can run up to 12 to 16 years if it is for hard drugs, or a maximum of 4 years for importing or exporting large quantities of cannabis. Investment in treatment and prevention of drug addiction is high when compared to the rest of the world. The Netherlands spends significantly more per capita than all other countries in the EU on drug law enforcement. 75% of drug-related public spending is on law enforcement. Drug use remains at average Western European levels and slightly lower than in English speaking countries.
caption: Cannabis coffee shop in the city center of Amsterdam, Netherlands
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