Leeuwarden city council has added its voice to calls to give local authorities the power to allow marijuana cultivation to supply cannabis cafes.

According to local paper Leeuwarder Courant, the council wants justice minister Ivo Opstelten to allow one cannabis café to grow its own marijuana as an experiment. Cultivation would not be legalised but the authorities would turn a blind eye to it, as they do with actual marijuana sales.

Currently, coffee shops are licensed to sell small amounts of marijuana and cannabis for personal use. And while possession is not legal, the police turn an official blind eye to people having less than five grammes.

Other cities

The city councils in Amsterdam, Groningen, Utrecht and Rotterdam have already made similar pleas for legalised cultivation.