Cannabis farming plan scuppered by minister

The Guardian Unlimited

Amsterdam (AP) - The Netherlands' justice minister yesterday fended off further liberalisation of the country's cannabis policy. Under Dutch law, "coffee shops" sell cannabis, but police crack down on growers. In December the minister, Piet Hein Donner, reluctantly agreed to MPs' requests to consider allowing the large-scale farming of cannabis in a pilot project near Maastricht. But yesterday he told MPs that if they wanted to allow cultivation, "then you need to find a different kind of justice minister". The key coalition party VVD appeared to swing behind him in order to avert a cabinet crisis.