Access to Licensed Cannabis Supply and the Separation of Markets Policy in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, small amounts of cannabis can be lawfully sold to consumers in so-called coffee shops. Many communities in the country do not have coffee shops, and users under 18 years of age are not allowed to enter coffee shops. A field sample of 773 current cannabis users were interviewed in seven Dutch cities, two without any coffee shop, five varying in coffee shop density. The vast majority (n = 665; 86.0%) buy their own cannabis, and more than 70% of the cannabis is bought in licensed coffee shops. In logistic regression analyses, three variables were significantly and independently associated with buying from unlicensed suppliers: coffee shop density, age, and sex. With higher coffee shop density it was less likely to buy outside of coffee shops. Under-age buyers were more than twice as likely to buy their cannabis from unlicensed dealers. Males were more likely to buy their cannabis from unlicensed sellers than females. A substantial proportion of unlicensed suppliers sell other drugs as well, thereby increasing the risk of being offered hard drugs when buying soft drugs. This risk is greater for minors than for adults, since a higher proportion of minors use unlicensed selling points.