of major importance. The meaning of the Dutch concept ofgedogenis, in
short, that the state does not take action when a law is being broken
because of a general societal agreement that the transgression constitutes
an acceptable activity with no victims. In ethical terms,gedogendoes not
mean that one approves or disagrees with the act that is being condoned,
but one accepts it out of a pragmatic non-judgemental stance. The concept
ofgedogenin relation to cannabis has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s
when a process of decriminalization of cannabis took place.
Towards a Liberal Approach of Cannabis: DecriminalizationThe attitude towards cannabis changed drastically in the mid-1960s with
the rise of youth culture and especially youth from the middle-class, such
as artists, students and activist, who were interested in an alternative life-
style. People arrested for possession of small quantities of cannabis faced
prison sentences of up to six months and longer. In the second half of
the 1960s, a public debate developed in which the severe punishments were
seen as ineffective and unjust. In the media, articles were published in
which cannabis use was portrayed as harmless. Two committees (Hulsman
and Baan) were asked to provide recommendations to the state on how to
deal with the use of drugs in the Netherlands. Their reports were in favour
of decriminalizing cannabis and had a strong influence on Dutch policy-
makers and politicians. Almost all the suggestions of the more moderate
rapport by the Baan committee were integrated into the new drugs law
of 1976.
Two lists of drugs were drawn up: List 1 for hard drugs, such as cocaine
and heroin, with unacceptable risks and List 2 for soft drugs, such as hash-
ish and marihuana. Possession of up to 30 g of soft drugs would not result
in a verdict. In relation to drug users, the focus was shifted from crime and
punishment to harm reduction and health. The situation which developed
in the Netherlands at this time was that ‘house dealers’ in youth centres dis-
tributed cannabis.
Since the 1980s, the commercialization of cannabis retail in the form of
coffee shops has expanded drastically. Because of the protection of the law,
many thought it was safe enough to invest in a coffee shop as a commercial
project. Within 10 years there were between 1,200 and 1,500 coffee shops in
the Netherlands. In response, the state developed five rules for the coffee
shops in the early 1990s, known as the AHOJG-criteria: Coffee shop own-
ers were not allowed to sell hard drugs, advertise their cannabis products,
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