Cannabis law in the Netherlands

Tolerated, not legal

Cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands. Hemp and hashish are listed on List II of the Opium Act (Opiumwet), and growing, selling, transporting and possessing them are prohibited [1]. What the country is known for is a tolerance policy (gedoogbeleid): the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) sets out in its Opium Act Directive when it will not investigate or prosecute certain offences, chiefly small-scale sale in coffeeshops and possession of small amounts for personal use [2]. The government describes coffeeshop sale as tolerated only when the shop sticks to the prescribed rules, and sale outside coffeeshops is not tolerated [3][4].

The coffeeshop criteria (AHOJG-I)

The Opium Act Directive lists the conditions a coffeeshop must meet to be tolerated, known by their Dutch initials [2]:

• A (affichering): no advertising beyond a brief sign on the premises.
• H (harddrugs): no hard drugs kept or sold.
• O (overlast): no nuisance, such as noise, litter, parking problems or customers loitering outside.
• J (jeugd): no entry for or sales to anyone under 18.
• G (grote hoeveelheden): no more than 5 grams per transaction, and a trading stock that may not exceed 500 grams.
• I (ingezetenen): entry and sales only for residents of the Netherlands.

Municipalities decide whether coffeeshops may operate within their boundaries at all, and if so how many, and they can add their own rules [3].

The residents criterion

The residents criterion (ingezetenencriterium) has applied since 1 January 2013 [2]. The government defines a resident as someone who lives in a Dutch municipality and is registered there, and notes that enforcement varies by municipality [3]. In practice this means rules for visitors differ from city to city, and the local position should be checked with the municipality concerned. Within the experiment described below, the government states that the criterion applies in Breda, Heerlen and Maastricht, and that mayors of the other participating municipalities can choose to apply it [7].

Possession: 5 grams

Possessing soft drugs is a criminal offence, and minors may not possess or buy them [4]. If an adult has no more than 5 grams of cannabis, the police will seize it and, as a rule, the person will not be prosecuted [4]. Above 5 grams, the government states that the Public Prosecution Service will prosecute [4]. The Opium Act itself provides a lower maximum penalty for offences involving no more than 30 grams of hemp or hashish [1], but that is a sentencing rule, not a tolerated amount.

Home growing: up to 5 plants

Growing cannabis at home or anywhere else is not permitted [4]. Where no more than 5 plants are found, the prosecution service assumes there is no professional or commercial cultivation; the grower must give up the plants and in most cases is not prosecuted [2][4]. More than 5 plants leads to prosecution [4]. Municipalities can also take their own administrative measures against cultivation, so seizure is not always the only consequence.

The closed coffeeshop chain experiment

Coffeeshops may sell, but nobody may legally supply them. The Experiment gesloten coffeeshopketen (in English, the Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment) tests whether cannabis can be produced, supplied and sold through one regulated chain [5]. Ten municipalities take part: Arnhem, Almere, Breda, Groningen, Heerlen, Voorne aan Zee, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Zaanstad, and all coffeeshops in those municipalities must participate [6]. Coffeeshops in Tilburg and Breda began selling regulated products during a start-up phase [5].

The experimental phase began on 7 April 2025. Since then, coffeeshops in the participating municipalities may buy, stock and sell cannabis from designated growers only [5][7]. The phase is set to last four years and can be extended by up to 18 months, and the experiment will be evaluated before it ends [5]. As of October 2026 the experiment is running; we found no official decision on its outcome or on changes to national coffeeshop policy.

CBD and the THC question

The Opium Act lists tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), including its isomers, on List I, the hard drugs list, while cannabidiol (CBD) is not named on any list [1]. Hemp on List II is defined as every part of the cannabis plant from which the resin has not been extracted, except the seeds, and the definition contains no THC threshold [1]. The Act also lists hemp oil obtained by extraction on List I [1]. The statute therefore gives no percentage below which THC in a CBD product is allowed.

For raw hemp, including flowers, the position is under review. In February 2026 the Hoge Raad (Supreme Court) referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union on whether EU law limits prosecution under the Opium Act for low-THC hemp grown lawfully in another member state [12]. Pending that answer, it set out a provisional framework under which an EU-law exception could apply only if the cultivation was registered, certified seed was used, harvest-timing rules were followed and THC did not exceed 0.3%; a low THC level on its own was not enough [12]. Because the final ruling is outstanding, we mark CBD flowers as unclear.

Seeds

Seeds are expressly excluded from the Opium Act’s definition of hemp [1], so selling and owning them is not an offence under that Act. Growing plants from them is prohibited [4], and the Act separately penalises knowingly supplying goods or means intended for large-scale or commercial cultivation [1].

Public use

There is no single national rule on smoking cannabis in public; municipalities regulate it in their local bye-laws. Amsterdam, for example, added a ban on open use of soft drugs in public space in the Burgwallen-Oude Zijde area (the Wallen) to its bye-law in 2023, with coffeeshop terraces initially exempt [13].

Driving

The Besluit alcohol, drugs en geneesmiddelen in het verkeer sets a limit of 3.0 micrograms of THC per litre of blood for cannabis on its own, and 1.0 microgram per litre when cannabis is combined with alcohol or another drug [8]. Exceeding the limit is an offence.

Minimum age

The minimum age is 18. Coffeeshops may not admit or sell to anyone younger [2][7], and minors may not possess or buy soft drugs [4].

Medicinal cannabis

Medicinal cannabis follows a separate, legal route. The Office of Medicinal Cannabis, part of CIBG under the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, holds a monopoly on supplying it to pharmacies and supplies only pharmacies, dispensing GPs, hospitals and veterinarians within the Netherlands [11]. It is prescribed by a doctor [10] and dispensed by pharmacies, where five products are available [9]. Questions about individual use belong with a doctor or pharmacist.