Netherlands

The Netherlands’ 1995 white paper Drug policy: continuity and change states the basic principles of Dutch drug policy: a distinction between soft and hard drugs; a balanced and integrated approach; and four major objectives. These are: 1) to prevent drug use and to treat and rehabilitate drug users 2) to reduce harm to users 3) to diminish public nuisance by drug users, and 4) to combat the production and trafficking of drugs. This white paper, which addresses only illegal drugs, was complemented by several specific strategies in the drug field: dismantling ecstasy production locations (2001); stopping cocaine trafficking by drug couriers using airplanes (2002); and dismantling large-scale cannabis cultivation (2004).