Could the Netherlands follow the example of some US states and become the first EU country to legalize cannabis? While Dutch authorities tolerate coffee shops selling the drug from their premises, it seems there is still a long way to go before marijuana is completely decriminalized in the country. Mariam Zaidi has more from Amsterdam.

In the US, the legal marijuana business is booming. BDS analytics, a research group that monitors the US cannabis industry says the sector made nearly nine billion in sales in 2017.

MARIAM ZAIDI AMSTERDAM "Amsterdam is a city known well known for its idyllic canals, bicycles and of course its hash cafes. But unlike in parts of the US - where a handful of states have legalized cannabis- no EU country has. And here in Amsterdam it's simply just 'tolerated'. But what if cannabis was more than just simply decriminalized here."

At almost every corner of the city you can find one of Amsterdam's famous coffee shops. From the more classic to the new, but these shops operate within a grey area of the law. They may have permits to sell small amounts of cannabis but cannot grow it or store more than 500 grams on site. Neither can they promote it.

SVEN COFFEE SHOP OWNER "They say you can't advertise anything about weed. We cannot even put a leaf of marijuana on the window or in the coffee shop because they say you are advertising marijuana and they don't want any advertisement of drugs."

DERRICK BERGMAN UNION FOR THE ABOLITION OF CANNABIS PROHIBITION "The problem with the policy is that any kind of production or wholesale for the coffee shop is still totally illegal. And also police are very much clamping down on any kind of production of cannabis. So this is a paradox. If the coffee shop can sell it, where does the coffee shop get the weed?"

Organizations like Derrick's, want cannabis cultivation legalized. They say the current laws encourage crime as shop owners are forced to buy product illegally on the black market from street dealers and gangs.

Some experts say that alcohol is the biggest driver for substance abuse in the Netherlands. But despite that, those working in addiction prevention say Netherlands should not follow the US model for legalization.

FLOOR VAN BAKKUM JELLINEK ADDICTION CARE "There's a difference the Dutch model and the US model. In the US model it's all commercialized and brands are competing with each other, just like the alcohol market is in the Netherlands. In a model like that, health is not the top priority. You can see that people are convincing others to start using cannabis and we should always be careful with that."

Cannabis legalization may not be round the corner in the Netherlands. But this year, a handful of local councils will take part in trials to regulate cannabis production by supplying coffee shops directly to cut out criminals. Mariam Zaidi, CGTN Amsterdam.