The government’s plan to classify strong varieties of marijuana as a class A drug under the opium laws will be impossible to put into practice, experts say in Friday’s Telegraaf.

Justice minister Ivo Opstelten and junior health minister Martin van Rijn want marijuana with THC content of more than 15% to be classed as a hard drug. THC is the main ingredient in marijuana which creates a high.

They want to impose the ban because marijuana grown in the Netherlands has become progressively stronger, and therefore more dangerous to health.

Coffee shops

However, the experts say it will lead to impossible situations in coffee shops – the licenced cafes where small amounts of marijuana can be bought and sold. In addition, it will cause difficulties in police investigations, the Telegraaf quotes them as saying.

Last year a report for the government said marijuana with more than 15% THC is so dangerous it should be classed alongside heroin and cocaine.

Experts say the THC content of Dutch-grown marijuana is between 15% and 18%. Some 75% of the marijuana sold in the country’s cannabis cafes is grown in the Netherlands.

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