The next stage in the national experiment with licenced marijuana production will kick off next week, but without hashish on the menu, justice minister David van Weel has told MPs.

From next week, 80 cannabis cafés, or coffee shops, in 10 Dutch local authority areas will only sell weed from licenced growers, but hashish will continue to come from illicit sources, Van Weel said.

Government inspectors will monitor the cafés from Monday to ensure they sell only official cannabis, with hashish set to follow on 10 June. Since last year, the shops have been selling both legal and illegal marijuana products.

“At the moment it is uncertain if there will be enough hashish available to supply all the coffee shops,” Van Weel said. The decision to delay was made at the request of mayors in the 10 participating towns, who fear that street dealers will step in if there is a shortage of hashish.

Arnhem, Almere, Breda, Groningen, Heerlen, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg, Voorne aan Zee and Zaanstad are taking part in the experiment.

Tilburg coffee shop owner Willem Vugs told broadcaster NOS that the licensed growers had initially focused on producing legal weed and that hashish is more complicated. He welcomed the delay, saying: “I am pleased growers are getting more time to produce the right quality and variety.”

The experiment aims to phase out the Dutch gedoog (tolerated) policy that has decriminalised the possession of small amounts of cannabis and licensed sales outlets, but still prohibits bulk production and sales.

This “front door, back door” system was introduced in the 1970s to draw a distinction between so-called “soft” and “hard” drugs, at a time when Amsterdam was gaining a global reputation as a haven for drug users.

Crime and regulation

However, the compromise was vulnerable to criminal influence, with robberies, violence and money laundering continuing to plague parts of the trade.  Policymakers now want to close that back door.

Breda mayor Paul Delpa, one of the main campaigners for a regulated system, told Dutch News last year the experiment is fundamentally about safety.

“The Dutch policy for weed is quite devious. People can buy it legally in coffee shops, but the production of the weed and the buying part (the back door) of the shop owners is illegal. That means there’s a big criminal world that thrives on producing the weed and selling it to the shops. That needs to change.”

This final stage in the experiment is due to run until 2029.