In the context of the law of the Netherlands

Law of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a civil law country. Its laws are written and the application of customary law is exceptional. The role of case law is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law...

, the term gedogen (toleration

Toleration

Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...

) refers to not enforcing certain laws. The Dutch government tolerates some offences. Some things like possessing small amounts of marijuana are formally forbidden by law, but the Dutch government abstains from bringing criminal charges to these offenders. Often these policies are brought about by a tension between treaty obligations and domestic politics. See policies on marijuana

Drug policy of the Netherlands

The drug policy of the Netherlands officially has four major objectives:# To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users.# To reduce harm to users....

 and euthanasia

Euthanasia in the Netherlands

Euthanasia in the Netherlands is regulated by the "Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act" from 2002. It states that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are not punishable if the attending physician acts in accordance with criteria of due care...

 for more information.
The opposite of gedogen is zero-tolerance