According to the mayor of Breda in the Netherlands, there are at least 30 companies that want to get into the legal mass production of marijuana in the country.
Coffee shops in the Netherlands sell marijuana to adults over the age of 18, but producing it is still illegal. This has led to criminals illegally mass producing the drug. In 2015, the police in the country had dismantled 5,856 marijuana plantations.
Mark Rutte who leads the new Dutch government has sanctioned a series of trials next year that will be conducted by six to ten councils. These councils will regulate production in their areas and will report to the central government.
There are four models in proposal, with one being that companies or medical institutions would mass produce the drug and then supply it to the coffee shops.
The other proposal would eliminate the need for coffee shops and have the drug directly supplied to customers from licensed producers selling it online.
The third proposal calls for individuals enrolling in a social cannabis club and the last suggested proposal is that coffee shops could be responsible for producing everything they sell.
According to Paul Depla, the mayor of Breda, who spoke to the Guardian, “A lot of companies have tried to contact and have said they are capable of producing the cannabis to be sold in the coffee shop. I have had offers from 25, 30, companies telling me that they are capable to produce on a legal and safe basis the cannabis.”
“Some involved in agriculture or linked with big companies with a lot of spare heat. Producing cannabis costs you a lot in electricity.”
He did not name the firms but said, “They want to be in the market, but it has to be sure that the government will allow this. When the government says they are starting, they will come forward. For the shareholders they don’t want the publicity for them it is very difficult.”
