Outgoing minister Foort van Oosten and state secretary Judith Tielen, responsible for Youth, Prevention and Sport, said through a spokesperson in the Dutch newspaper AD (link in Dutch) that they "regret the nuisance" experienced by residents living near the cannabis facility CanAdelaar. The company has been fined 1 million euros by the municipality and the environmental authority. The grower, which operates a greenhouse in Hellevoetsluis, can still appeal the decision.
CanAdelaar is one of the ten participants in the Closed Coffee Shop Chain Experiment, a government pilot project. The experiment is scheduled to end on 7 April 2029. Next summer, an interim report will be published following an evaluation of the project so far. According to the ministry's spokesperson, the issue of odour nuisance in Hellevoetsluis may also be included in that report. "The experiment does not contain any specific rules regarding odour emissions, because legislation on that already exists within the Environmental Planning Act," the spokesperson told AD.
