The ruling Christian Democratic party will on Thursday publish a document outlining plans to further crack down on soft drug use, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday.

‘The practice of turning a blind eye has failed, and we will do all we can to move towards zero coffee shops,’ CDA MP Cisca Joldersma told the paper. Cafes which sell small amounts of cannabis are known as coffee shops.
Joldersma told the Telegraaf that the punishment for producing hard and soft drugs should be made the same and plans to introduce legislation which will ban the growing of marijuana. At the moment, police turn a blind eye to private individuals with up to four plants.
The CDA has support in its new strategy from the right-wing Liberals VVD, the paper says. The VVD wants the maximum sentence for smuggling soft drugs to be raised from four to 12 years.
The CDA’s coalition partner, PvdA, is opposed to tougher sentences. ‘You know it is being sold. And if you can’t make sure it can be delivered via normal routes, it is really naive to come up with this sort of idea,’ Labour MP Lea Bouwmeester told the paper.
The party thinks steps should be taken to make it easier for coffee shops to have legal deliveries of marijuana.
The Netherlands’ tolerant attitude to soft drugs has come under extra pressure at home in recent months. The production of marijuana is said to generate sales of some €2bn a year.
MPs are due to discuss soft drugs policy with ministers on Thursday