Press release of Trekt Uw Plant

2 april 2011

ANTWERPEN –

Today the First Cannabis Social Club of Belgium, Trekt Uw Plant in Antwerp, brought in its first harvest of 2011. In a meeting in Antwerp 30 members received their first plant of the year containing each 25 grammes of cannabis. Since February 2010 the association grows cannabis for the personal use of its members, on the basis of the principle 1 plant per member. We base ourselves on a ministerial guideline that was signed in January 2005 by the Minister of Justice and all 5 Chief Prosecutors of Belgium. According to this guideline, the possession of max. 3 grammes of cannabis and 1 cannabis plant by adults will no longer be prosecuted.

Growing cannabis for personal use is a sensible and healthy alterntive to the illegal market and the tourism from Belgians to Dutch coffeeshops. Trekt Uw Plant uses only ecological cultivation methods, without any risk of contamination or adulteration of the product, like it can be the case on the black market. Contrary to the illegal market, a Cannabis Social Club is not accessible to minors. And because members of Trekt Uw Plant do not need to drive to the Netherlands anymore, to buy cannabis in coffeeshops there, a contribution is made to the reduction of public nuisance and pollution.

Trekt Uw Plant president Martin Veltjen hands over a cannabis plant to Freddie van den Berg, member of the association

The ministerial guideline that de facto legalises cultivation for personal use in Belgium was established after 8 years of political discussions and debate in society. Also Trekt Uw Plant had to go to court two times because some prosecutors still did not find the guideline clear enough and persecuted the association, first for “cannabis possession” and after for “incitement to drug use”. Both times the association was acquitted, on 26 june 2008 and 25 february 2010.

Since then Trekt Uw Plant organises cannabis cultivation for the personal use of its members, through a closed circuit. We call on all people who want to follow our example to do this in a respectful, serious and responsible way. Establishing an association is a way to start in a good way. Our statutes are accessible on our website www.trektuwplant.be, and we are always willing to give advise.

Furthermore Trekt Uw Plant wants to start a dialogue with local authorities in order to explain the activities of the association and avoid misunderstandings. We are also interested in the possibility to control our cannabis by public health authorities, but due to the lacking clarity on the legal status it is still impossible to establish a definitive regulation around this.

Trekt Uw Plant

Trekt Uw Plant is a Cannabis Social Club, founded in 2006, with the aim of showing in all openness and in a simple but convincing way that it is very well possible to regulate the cultivation of cannabis for adults in Belgium.

Details contactpersons:

Martin Veltjen – martin.veltjen@pandora.be – Tel. +32 493 – 195477

Joep Oomen – info@encod.org – Tel +32 495 – 122644

Kris Verdonck – kverdonck@skynet.be – Tel. +32 486 – 357595

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