"The Netherlands disdained the global 'war on drugs' She advocated prohibition, criminalization, and harsh punishments, whereas our national drug policy has focused on minimizing user health hazards for decades and proven effective. Cannabis is allowed for personal use under specific conditions. Hard drugs are banned, although possession of half a gram or one ecstasy tablet is rarely punished. The top local drug dealers have been caught by the police. Drug-related crimes and killings were traceable and controllable. Former Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema told the Guardian that drug trafficking had little touched the economy or daily life.
Not anymore. Globalization and drug prohibition have made the drug trade more profitable, professional, and cruel. The results are dire. Europe's largest port, Rotterdam, has become a cocaine transit center during the past decade. Dutch drug enforcement has strengthened, but the trend has not reversed. Cocaine seizures rose to a record 29,702kg in the first half of 2023 from slightly over 22,000kg in 2022. This may seem positive, but it shows the enormity of the situation. Our drug policy is like washing dishes with the tap on.
Recent drug trafficking tendencies feature 14-year-old "cocaine pickers" as a severe threat. As seizures rise, so does violence. Over the previous five years, Amsterdam has seen the daylight murder of a crucial witness's brother, his lawyer, and a renowned journalist who advised him in a major criminal case against an international drug gang.
Amsterdam is a global drug market where demand is assessed and agreements and payments are conducted. Drug lords use it to launder money or send it to tax havens. Their money pollutes the legitimate economy, notably real estate, commercial services, and hotels. If this trend continues, illicit money will flood our economy and violence will peak. This causes societal unrest, crumbling communities, generations of vulnerable youth lured to crime, and lawlessness. Without a major overhaul, the Netherlands might become a drug state.
Our Dutch problems are not a reflection of our liberal drug policies. The reverse is true. The Dutch government's MDMA policy, driven by the global war on drugs, has been more restrictive from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Under international criticism, the Netherlands classified MDMA, a party drug and viewed as harmless, as a hard drug under the Opium Act in 1988. The estimated €18.9 billion street value of yearly Dutch ecstasy manufacturing shows that this move accidentally made illicit MDMA manufacture profitable and generated a lucrative business model for criminal groups. This shows how adapting to global drug prohibition trends can backfire.
Dutch difficulties demonstrate the necessity for a global strategy shift. This is not about abandoning consumer-oriented policies but promoting worldwide acknowledgment that the war on drugs is ineffective.
This requires urgent discussion of alternatives in local governments, national parliaments, and worldwide assemblies. worldwide treaties restrict national drug laws, therefore we will need new worldwide coalitions that value health and safety above punishment.
This requires urgent discussion of alternatives in local governments, national parliaments, and worldwide assemblies. worldwide treaties restrict national drug laws, therefore we will need new worldwide coalitions that value health and safety above punishment. This will need collective examination and possible revision of these accords to create a worldwide climate where new, health-oriented drug policies may be implemented without legal hurdles.
Many historical examples can help us develop drug war alternatives. Harm reduction facilities, such as methadone and heroin use zones, have improved heroin users' living circumstances, health, and quality of life while lowering drug issues and crime in the Netherlands since the early 1980s. Bern, Switzerland, attempted to legalize cocaine this summer to improve control and prevention. After city cannabis sales trials began. Uruguay legalized cannabis for recreational, medicinal, and industrial use and established a controlled market with tight manufacturing, distribution, and selling laws.
Market regulation, governmental monopolies, and medical provision are all options. Neither is easy. Drugs still pose serious health dangers, and criminals will employ violence to safeguard their earnings. This requires purposeful and thoughtful course correction and consideration of momentary setbacks. None of this justifies inaction. Our youth, quality of life, economy, and rule of law are at risk./BGNES
