Germany, the Czech Republic and Holland Lead the Offensive Against Grow Shops in Europe

There are more and more grow shops in the world: in the EU, the USA and in South America. On the Old Continent, in the 80s Holland saw the growth of these specialised establishments, which sell products for cannabis cultivation.

The Czech Republic and Germany also permitted the opening of these stores, provided that they do not engage in the sale or cultivation of marijuana. Now, these two countries and Holland are waging a crusade against them, with the attack featuring different particularities in each place.

The situation in the Czech Republic was without incident until in 2013when the police began to inspect grow shops across the country. Although the sale of hemp seeds is legal, they cannot be marketed together with growing accessories, which has triggered a drop in the number stores and an increase in sales via the Internet.

In the Germanic country grow shops have steadily multiplied since the 90s. However, last year several police inspections were carried out at establishments in Bremen and Hannover. Germany's Pascal Drisch recently circulated a letter in which he explains that a court of the city of Bochum apparently ordered the inspection of his premises, Progrow. Although they found no evidence of any breach of the country's narcotic laws, the police are also examining the company's hard disks and emails anyway.

Holland, meanwhile, has slipped off the cutting edge in recent years, especially after the approval of the regulation widely known as the Grow Shop Law, which took effect on 1 March and deals a harsh blow to these stores, with sanctions of up to three years of jail time and fines of 81,000 euros for those who sell any element related to the professional cultivation of marijuana. The police, in addition, will be authorised to ask gardening centres for information on customers who plant cannabis.