Legal Dutch weed experiment – discussions and reviews!'

[mexcurandero420]

So the big cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht & the Hague aren't joining this experiment.The companies which are allowed to grow and deliver the goodies, said that they will expand their varieties, so we have to wait what kind of Haze hybrids we can expect on their menu.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Here is an example how Fyta company grow Cannabis.They also have a test panel.

 

[GrayZone]

Am becomiing very sceptical concerning the cannabis legalization efforts in Germany.

DE or anywhere else; if and when it becomes convenient and beneficial for politicians and their businessmen buddies, then we might see it. It's all about what suits them best, who cares about the plebs.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Legally grown weed is popular with Breda smokers: 'At least you know that it is clean'​

For the first time, legally grown cannabis is being sold in coffee shops in Breda and Tilburg. The government-controlled cannabis products are in great demand among customers on day 1. 'The prices aren't too bad for me. I hope they stay that way.”

Peter de Graaf December 16, 2023, 12:20

“Do you want to try the new, regulated weed or something from the regular range?”, a counter employee in the Breda coffee shop De Baron asks a customer. Mark (47) is 'curious about legal cannabis' and chooses a gram of Fritter Licker from cannabis cultivation company Fyta from Waalwijk. “I'm going to give it a try,” says the Breda resident. “I swear by clean weed, without chemical additives.”

Lisa (24) orders two grams of Blue Kushy and Pink Sandy from grower Aardachtig from Almere. Bas-Jan (41) from Raamsdonkveer chooses Permanent Laughter. He reads with approval the information on the packaging of the legally grown cannabis: 20.22 percent THC and less than 0.23 percent CBD - these are the main active substances in cannabis. “Something like this is not normally stated on the cannabis you buy, but it should actually be required,” he says. “Then at least you know what you're smoking.”

On Friday, the official start signal for the closed cannabis chain experiment, also known as the weed experiment, was given in the Breda coffee shop De Baron. In coffee shops in Breda and Tilburg, consumers can buy legally grown cannabis products, checked and approved by the government, for the first time in the Netherlands.

he legal weed will arrive in Breda on Friday with a special car for valuables transport.Image Joris van Gennip / de Volkskrant

box full of bags of legally grown weed into the coffee shop's system.
On the digital price list behind the counter of De Baron they are in the right column: three types of weed from Fyta from Waalwijk, four types from CanAdelaar from Hellevoetsluis and six types from Aardachtig from Almere. Prices vary from 8 to 11 euros per gram. They are comparable to the cannabis prices in the left columns, from suppliers who have been supplying the coffee shop illegally for years.

Users think the legally grown weed smells 'good and pure'.Image Joris van Gennip / de Volkskrant

cannabis,” he says. In recent years, fire has repeatedly been affected by the supply of contaminated products by illegal suppliers. Then the cannabis was 'weighted', or processed with fragrances to make it smell better or with synthetic THC to make the product stronger.
“Now you know you are getting guaranteed, government-controlled clean cannabis,” he says. “If necessary, we can also have it tested in a laboratory ourselves, because it is no longer an illegal product.”

 

[Sativied]

Main reason for the contaminated product was the government who took the supply from small plant-loving growers to organized criminals only in it for the money. Not like it‘s hard to get clean quality product in places around the world where grow and supply is properly regulated.

 

[goingrey]

 

[mexcurandero420]

ID is required by entrance.

 

[Cvh]

Hi all, this is a thread for all the discussions about the Legal Dutch weed experiment.

 

[NotYourSaviour]

All right then thought this very topic well deserves an extra thread to follow progress, report and discuss! Sure I'm not the only one interested in this.

First of all thanks to members Mexcurandero420 for posting the news on here first and member Cvh for piecing together this thread – kudos and cheers to both of you again!

Important information beforehand: since I'm not an information desk for several reasons everyone interested in this Legal Weed Experiment of the Dutch goverment can find most probably all questions covered in this link as they explained it well:

Official information about Legal Wiet Experiment by the Dutch goverment​

Though let's put down the main facts[mostly copied and pasted]:

- ten municipalities take part[which part of Amsterdam will join is still subject of discussion at the minute] :

Almere


Arnhem


Breda


Groningen


Heerlen


Voorne aan Zee


Maastricht


Nijmegen


Tilburg


Zaanstad


East of Amsterdam and its coffeeshops probably too which is still discussed

Important to know: Breda, Heerlen and Maastricht are still not accessible for non-Dutch-residents!​

- all coffeeshops in the municipalities must take part in the Legal Wiet Experiment

- 10 supplier companies will produce the cannabis

- same rules as usual applied for coffeeshops[ maximum of 5 grams, no alcohol and other drugs et cetera] though they can store up to one week's stock

- coffeeshops must operate a track-and-trace system. This is required to maintain a controlled supply chain from grower to coffeeshop to customer.

- quality control

- five stages of the Legal Wiet Experiment will last approximately 4 years

- the aim of the experiment is to analyze whether and how it is possible to decriminalise the supply of quality-controlled cannabis to coffeeshops by growers[companies].
Decriminalisation means changing the law so that it is no longer a criminal offence to grow, distribute or sell cannabis within the framework of the experiment. The government also wants to examine the effects of the experiment on drug related problems experienced by certain municipalities, for example in terms of crime and public health

Review from December, 2023 in Tilburg:

[Beware, intro blahblahblah]
Since we intended a classic yearly pre-Crimob hashish spree around the country in December, 2023 our too often delay in this month to not get into heavy Crimbo traffic and overcrowded areas got extra last minute this time but that was 'blessing in disguise' as I read this piece of good news elsewhere beforehand.

Following the Dutch discussion to get rid of outdated coffeeshop tolerance policy[especially illegal supply in regards to the backdoor problem] closely since its start in 2017 as reported every now and then ; numerous expected delays coming with such changes included.

Though expected it to start merely in 2024 and forgot to look it up for some time. Lovely surprise.

Was a no brainer going there not only to consume legal grass on Dutch soil but also to be part of this historic moment. Bonus, anyone? Even though in the end this experiment is only about decriminalisation it is a first serious step in the right direction after decades of turining an blind eye to the illegal supply and its then occuring problems over the decades.

So a side-trip to Tilburg was decided then as one can reach everything in the Netherlands handily in 1- 2 hours maximum, no offence intended. Since going to Tilburg among many other places since ages even though in this game there are changes every now and then places to go and avoid are well known in town.

So it was another bonus as reported before in the coffeeshop review thread to go to well respected Toermalijn first which is one of my most favourite coffeeshops in Nederland since ages to this very day. A coffeeshop which can mess easily with any throughout the country even though was and is overrun mainly by the Flemish, Walloons, Germans and Frenchies. Let alone their fame locally.

During Covid19 they renovated the coffeeshop and reduced the small sitting area even more for more waiting room to serve customers at now three counters.

There is in recent months a small bar for small menu of beverages and drinks reinstalled but one can now only sit, weather permitting, in their lovely garden or the roofed looby leading to the garden via one door which originally was a part of the garden
before it was due to the onslaught of customers turnt into this which sadly is not that comfortable during certain temperatures as so so lagged.

Which addresses a problem occuring more and more in recent years at many coffeeshops, especially outside of Amsterdam:
the lack of space to sit down as many shops turnt into pickup-only places due to even more strict anti-tobacco laws on one hand and what feels like a general isolating of society at their
homes to do what ever they do there on the internet or related to what ever screen instead of talking to each other in person, a disgusting trend and not a balance between digital and analogue age.

What ever, we drove straight to this shop and the opposite supermarket is always handy for at least a short stop for some reasons.

At the coffeeshop we were sadly told that they didn't have the legal grass ready in their case before January, 2024 so off we went.

Of course not without having grabbed some Gmo[hashish] for 15€/g and Gelatti cali for 26€/g. Which would have been chosen anyway when on site. Killing two birds with one stone, anyone?

Their menu always was extensive because 60 items are way too much for my liking and too often a sign of 'too good to be true' when thinking of the 500gram limit every coffeeshop apart from very few exceptions nationwide has to stick to.

Not with this shop and even though also this shop suffered from heavy traffic it still is one providing a roughly overall good quality as one definitely cannot juggle too many balls at once.

Thus their gear is pre-packed which in fact is to avoid but in this case one can be 'sure' it is not long sitting on the shelves,haha.

They definitely don't have only very good stuff as for sure focussed on price-performance-ratio with their traffic but nonetheless I found standouts ocassionally over many a visits with bestial quality bordering on top grade.

The Gmo is that type of standard dry sift these days I mentioned a lot and that one had it all as a start for this day[grass for wasting a wake and bake when having a choice? Are you kidding?]:
tasty enough and equally strong at supposedly tested more than 60% of total cannabinoids and easily better for 3€ more than the Legal hashish acquired later, haha[as well as '30% cannabinoids extra' for those belonging to 'team numbers count only'].

Funnily one hashish with the same name was bought elsewhere on this whole trip from my second most favourite section
focussed on price-performance ratio for 7 € more and remarkably more delicate in taste but not strength though since taste was not to my liking at all even though enjoyable I would prefer the Toermalijn version but don't know who supposedly produced this in Morocco but it was the better price/performance ratio.

Sadly at least the hashish['dry sift'] with foreign genetics cannot be smelled before purchase as coming in sealed small glass jars which is a let down but at least can be roughly rated per eye.

The Gelatti cali despite the stupid name and not so good looking appereance came with the extra creamyness the rest of the Legal Dutch grass lacked[as well as could be smelt before if memory serves me right ; their standard grass definitely can]
but to be fair no other grass was consumed as far as I can remember this whole trip as in the end. Don't get me wrong the price is a major letdown but split among a few of us not that insane anymore.

We also then went to a few other shops[ can remember De Muze, Africa but forgot the others for good reason as while not really bad in the end just an alibi, lol]with mixed results and because of the inexistence of sitting down areas in town decided to go for the following sure shot and would haven ended up there anyway.

[End of intro blablahblah]

Reviews:​

At infamous coffeeshop The Grass Company which despite of being what is too often hit and miss a chain we settled down[pun intended]here. There are two in town and two in nearby 's-Hertogenbosch.

Since the dilemma of seating possiblilities this is one of of the best in this regard all across the country, many seats, natural light, table service and a proper food menu
not cheap but not too expensive either ; good enough quality food and one could consider this a restaurant!
Professional yet commercial for some tastes definitely but exemplary is all I can say in the end! Their gear is sold pre-packed at the counter right after the entrance. There is a separate entrance to the right leading to the coffeeshop.

Strictly smoking pure these days but no problem for our circle for some reasons.

Their grass and hashish itsself didn't change since ages, a tad in recent years but quite consistent.
The quality is roughly nice enough but nothing special. Only go there for sitting down and both locations in town are proper for that even though the Piusstaraat one has a smaller food menu.
Though I noticed accuired legal grass was more expensive here than elsewhere but
despite obviously more overheads than other coffeeshops the costs of the legal grass probably depend on the individual coffeeshop taking part in this experiment anyway as e.g. if I compare this to the menu from De Baron in Breda member Mexcurandero420 posted.

Rating scale: Roughly between 'low grade', 'mid grade', 'high grade' and 'top grade'[this one more of an ideal] as usual
which should speak for themselves[sure this still is somewhat rough but in the end while I praise science I still know this reviewing here is just as said very subjective but is directed
at the average consumer too not nerds exclusively as one can set up a well more detailed rating system but is then only useful for more experiencied consumers and while I respect this group of course
I'd find it more useful to build bridges instead so a rough base is enough for different future groups existing in peaceful coexistence ] ; 'look' believe it or not is not a too important factor in our book.
'High grade' ticks all the boxes in reference to taste/smoothness, smell and effect.

Mimosa(12€/g) – sour note apart from hints of lemon was dominating smellwise which was noticeable in the flavour nice enough ; relatively smooth on the lungs. Strength was medium, more uppish effect.

All in all: nice enough and this is my idea of standard quality, nothing amazing nothing disgusting! Second best smell of the trio. Could have been trimmed better.

Least favourite of this trip among us but still nice enough high grade ; one mate of us four particularly didn't like it at all, lol.

Ice Cream Cake(12€/g) – kush smell profile which transfered good to the taste ; relatively creamy and smooth smoke. Strength was strong enough mix of head and body effect.

All in al: good yet very good quality. Wasn't really too far away from the quality of the overpriced 'Gelatti cali' from Toermalijn. Winner of this legal gear among us. Recommended!

Amnesia Core Cut(10€/g) – sweet and bubblegumlike flavour which was transfered relatively good to the taste. Strength was strong enough more of a head high but still some body effect.

All in all: good quality.

Am no expert on Amnesia but had it relatively often since it appeared in various versions at coffeeshops ; was mainly chosen because we wanted to know how this company grows an established strain.

This is the most famous I reckon.
Got bored of it at one point but that doesn't mean shit as I'm definitely in its team ; for sure a classic nowadays and a good representation of it,
at least this version is top 5 from all I tried ever[sources only black market or coffeeshops before].
Price is also ok but should be a couple € cheaper nowadays at a coffeeshop. Second best from the legal grass lot. Recommended.

Royal Medic Hashish(12€/g):

Only mid-grade quality ; more details here.

Side note:
All grass was grown by company Fyta which ; their inernet presence is quite ok and they have small profiles of their strains – hope for more detail at some point though!

The hashish is grown, supposedly outdoors, by company Canadelaar but their internet presence leaves room for improvement heavily. Average overpriced mid-grade in our book only.

[Had to take a picture along Tilburg as well and since strongly God-fearing and knowing about being poor sinners certain establishment was chosen in hope for absolution one day]

Conclusion: No real mind blowing grass quality to be found but in the end a good standard available this visit to Tilburg.

Sure, this is still all subjective and there were samples declined so only a part of the overall picutre though a hopeful one. More detailed transparency about growing approach and curing process would be highly advisable in my humble opinon.

Apart from that all said above is a bit of splitting hairs as in the end it is legal grown grass at a relatively okish price and the 3 strains were at least nice enough.
The fact that it was legally grown under specific requirements is the dealbreaker for me ; especially in smaller towns outside the bigger cities this quality is a bit of a bounty to all average consumers and I'am not talking about nerds again.

That doesn't mean I knee down just because it is legally produced and swallow every bitter pill[read quality] - we're still not at the pig trough but I am more of rational person and know everything takes time but this indeed is a good start .

Good point is it also comes in sealed baggies which is a bit of a waste but compared to the way coffeeshops treat their grass, pre-packed or loosely via tubs or jars[stereotypically pragmatic Dutch(ies)] where, let alone ocydation, every person behind the counter or, which declined more and more thankfully even before damn Covid19 pandemic, even customers
touched before this compromise is very welcome for a picky person as myself ; though as reported before when we went during first lockdown of Covid19 pandemic in 2020 this fortunately changed for the better mostly and in particular at the better coffeeshops so everyone and his dog's fingers aren't around anymore and persons behind the counter wear gloves as a minimal standard more often[still room for improvement].

It still is mass produced stuff but not from a dodgy supplier promising this and that or grass grown in some underground factory fueled of fertilizers, bacteria and mold[ I know I still go to coffeeshops regularly and consume hashish of dubious origin but I don't do this all day every day and know the risk so less of a health concern but no risk no fun, innit?].

Despite a certain generation ourselves included grew up with black market gear and the few dedictated people involved before organised crime to an unpleasant degree took over which definitely deserves some respect this here is the next step but indeed hopefully not the end.

Inflated or not, life and progress goes on and hopefully not backward.

So happy we could be a part of this start as so sick of the black market and its too many downsides.

Due to lack of quality and crooks we started to grow outdoors and later indoors back in the day so this is very welcome.
I think a certain part of said generations will keep this track and of course so be it but for a new generation of consumers and everyone else I think this is something of a good base to get into it.

Future: we'll keep an eye on the progress and will report back every now and then about what is available and got tested ; still our trips to the Netherlands are about a strong focus on hashish as grass on such holidays is not really of interest for several reasons.

Hope others chime in here with their reviews!

Since we missed gear from company Aardachtig and at least apart for room for improvement what was read on their internet presence we look forward to try theirs as well before in the next stages of the Dutch legal wiet experiment the other 7 companies will follow - now only said three supply the market.
Also edibles will be available I read which is interesting, too.

Hope after the end of this experiment in some years and reevaluation that will lead to a full legalisation someday in the Netherlands[and hopefully other countries to follow]as consuming legal grass in a semi-legal[read tolerated]context at a coffeeshop is better than nothing but not exactly brilliant ; in the end the Netherlands have to stick to laws of the European Union as well and not sure if the have the balls to break this and go fully legal so fingers crossed they don't come up with a lame compromise and hopefully bin the coffeeshops system for something new even if this would mean the legal unaivailability of tradtitional hashish from Morocco, Nepal et al
[you have to break an egg to make an omelette, anyone?].
Too hope apart from the now established supplier companies taking part other applicants get a licence for growing and such for a guarantee of a broad spectrum of approaches not limited to certain companies.

Wishful thinking?

Sure, state of the world and history considered but hope dies last. In the end what ever comes up if legalised the average consumer can't be punished anymore and if this isn't enough one can always help oneselves and grow at home again but then despite possible charges can then hopefully live in a climate of more acceptance and less bullshit.

Fingers crossed again!

 

[Asentrouw]

" the aim of the experiment is to analyze whether and how it is possible to decriminalise the supply of quality-controlled cannabis to coffeeshops by growers[companies]."


Let's see where all this will leave the hobby growers...

If production is done by a few privileged companies, I don't see the end of repression against hobby growers, who still face severe and unfair repression as the result of the crazy Damocles law. And with the new rightwing government this is not likely to change anytime soon.

 

[Yo Sammy]

" the aim of the experiment is to analyze whether and how it is possible to decriminalise the supply of quality-controlled cannabis to coffeeshops by growers[companies]."


Let's see where all this will leave the hobby growers...

If production is done by a few privileged companies, I don't see the end of repression against hobby growers, who still face severe and unfair repression as the result of the crazy Damocles law. And with the new rightwing government this is not likely to change anytime soon.

Spot on!
Also this: this “legal” weed grown by “legal” producers on large scale at big facilities is supposedly “clean” and thus “safe” regarding pests and harmful and/or illegal pesticides.
This however doesn’t necessarily mean legal producers abstain from utilising regulated pesticides that supposedly aren’t harmful.
I do believe that regulating (not equal to legalising) cultivation of cannabis is needed in Holland and so a step in the right direction.
However the way this experiment is unfolding leaves the home growing community left with no regulations whatsoever. The supposed toleration of growing maximum 5 plants isn’t actually a tolerance at all when you look at the standard procedure upon discovery: all plants & all things related to the cultivation of the plants found in the house will be destroyed.
The Dutch legislators in charge of this experimental trial to commence a way over due so desperate needed regulation of cannabis cultivation clearly don’t have any sense of understanding of how it’s been imbedded in our society leaving us with single but no real improvements for the larger community imho.
So either these legislators are being bad advised or they’re lacking serious engagement to start this experiment with a a more thoughtful structured model including a proper and clear regulation of home growing.
The German model of regulating cultivation and consumption seems infinitely more realistic and therefore much more appealing.

 

[mexcurandero420]

BBC item about the experiment

 

[goingrey]

 

[goingrey]

Interesting how the claimed 15% THC weed is testing at 24-26% for him. The tester he uses (Purpl Pro) isn't very accurate but should still be within 2 percentage points.