The center-left Labor Party, which is surging in pre-election polls thanks to strong performances by its leader Diederik Samsom in televised debates, also advocates scrapping the pass and replacing it with legislation that would further enshrine tolerance of marijuana in Dutch law and regulate not only coffee shops but also growers.
However, the coffee shops still have a fight on their hands – the conservative VVD party of outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte is topping polls and looks set to become the biggest single party. It was a VVD-led coalition that introduced the weed pass and it is standing by the policy.
If Rutte winds up negotiating a centrist coalition, all parties would likely be willing to bend or drop their position on the pass in favor of other policy goals.
