Drug dealing (trafficking) or transporting drugs
Are you or someone you know being prosecuted for selling, dispensing, delivering or transporting drugs? At Van Meekren Advocatuur, we have ample expertise to guide you through the criminal process and/or provide you with advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, selling and transporting drugs is prohibited. This is stated in articles 2 and 3 under B of the Opium Act. According to these articles, it is prohibited to sell hard drugs (article 2) or soft drugs (article 3):
"to cultivate, prepare, process, sell, deliver, provide or transport."
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Thus, the sale of soft drugs through a coffee shop is also prohibited, but this is not always prosecuted. This is called "tolerance. More information can be found here.
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For dealing user quantities of hard drugs from a premises and/or on the street, the court uses the following landmarks:
- for less than one month with any regularity: 3 months' imprisonment
- for more than one month, but less than 3 months, with any regularity: 6 months' imprisonment
- for more than three months, but less than six months, with any regularity: 8 months' imprisonment
- for 6 to 12 months with any regularity: 12 months imprisonment
The above are only basic principles. In each individual case, the judge must decide what punishment is appropriate and necessary if he reaches a conviction. The judge may deviate from the guiding principles in doing so. A specialized lawyer can help you with this.
Current events
The (single) possession of drugs is also prosecuted with some regularity in the Netherlands. For some recent examples, see among others:
Learn more
Want to know more? Our contact details can be found here.
Van Meekren Advocatuur litigates throughout the Netherlands, including at the courts in Alkmaar, Almelo, Amsterdam, Arnhem, Assen, Breda , Dordrecht, The Hague, Groningen, Haarlem, 's-Hertogenbosch, Leeuwarden, Lelystad, Maastricht, Middelburg, Roermond, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Zutphen and Zwolle, the courts in Amsterdam, Arnhem, The Hague, 's-Hertogenbosch and Leeuwarden, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague. Van Meekren Advocatuur also litigates at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.