At least 30 companies want to get into the legal mass production of cannabis in the Netherlands, according to the mayor of the southern city of Breda, whose council is among two dozen vying to take part in government-backed trials designed to cut criminals out of supplying cannabis-selling coffee shops.
Dutch coffee shops are allowed to sell small amounts of the drug to over-18s, yet production is illegal, leaving an opportunity for gangs also involved in harder drugs to prosper.
The police dismantled 5,856 marijuana plantations in 2015, nearly 16 a day, according to the latest available figures.
The new Dutch government led by Mark Rutte has, however, sanctioned a series of trials in 2018 to be conducted by six to 10 councils which will regulate production in their areas and report to the outcome to central governmen.
Four models are being proposed. One would lead to mass production from companies or medical institutions, which would supply the coffee shops.
