NORMAL Arkiv Drug policy in The Netherlands

Contents:



Drug policy
The primary aim of the drug policy pursued in the Netherlands is the safeguarding of health.
Although the attention focused on such questions as drug related crimes and drug trafficking sometimes seems to overshadow concern for health problems, this latter aspect~ has always been kept in mind during policy development. It is for this reason that the Minister for Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs has been made responsible for coordinating the government's drug policy to which there are two facets:
the enforcement of the Opium Act and policy on prevention and assistance.
The central objective is to restrict as much as possible the risks that drug abuse present to drug users themselves, their immediate environment and society as a whole.
These risks, or the likelihood of harmful effects, are dependent not only on the psychotropic or other properties of the substance, but primarily on the type of user, the reasons for use and the circumstances in which the drugs are taken.
A realistic and pragmatic approach has been opted for in Dutch drugs policy, which proceeds on the principle that only cohesive, balanced and multidisciplinary measures can help to keep the drugs problem in check.
Experience has shown that a pragmatic approach aimed at seeking solutions for concrete problems is more effective than one that is emotional and dogmatic. There is no question of a laissez-faire attitude being taken.
It is part of Dutch tradition that whatever the problem to be tackled, the effectiveness of the measures to be applied is always closely scrutinized.
This means that various policy instruments such as prosecution and the health care and welfare services are continuously subjected to cost-benefit; analysis. Legislation is obviously considered important in the Netherlands, but great value is likewise attached to strongly organised social control.
This realistic approach has obviated the application of radical measures (such as compulsory treatment on the one hand or the provision of heroin), which may create the impression that vigorous action is being taken to combat drug abuse, but often generate more problems than they solve. Although the risks to society must of course be taken into account, the government tries to ensure that drug users are not caused more harm by prosecution and imprisonment than by the use of drugs themselves. Dutch policy is also continuously seeking to strike the right balance between the different types of measures. This takes place at national level in close cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs. The Interministerial Steering Group on Drug Misuse Policy was set up in 1974 to coordinate the work of these ministries, in 1982 the Group's responsibilities were extended to include policy on alcohol abuse.

Current situation

The use of hashish and marijuana (known as Schedule ll substances) by young people has remained stable in recent years.
In 1984, 4.2% of the 10 of 18 age group had used these substances at least once and half of them still do so occasionally.
One in 1,000 is a daily user.
The findings of a survey held in Amsterdam in December 1987 revealed that 23.6% of persons over the age of 12 (in other words including adults) had at some time used hashish.
Last-month prevalence of cannabis use (people who have used cannabis once or more often in the previous month) appeared to be 5.5%;
the highest last month-prevalence was found in the age bracket of 23 and 24 years: 14.5%.
0.4% had used opiates once or more often in the month prior to the interview;
this last month-prevalence was 0.6% for cocaine.

It has been estimated that there are between 4,000 and 6,000 addicts in Amsterdam out of a population of 692,000. Reliable estimates for 1989 put the number of addicts in the country as a whole at between 15,000 and 20,000 out of a total population of 14.7 million.

A number of general trends have emerged:
The Opium Act
The Opium Act of 1919 was radically amended in 1928 and again in 1976 in order to bring it into line with the obligations stemming from the 1961 international Single Convention On Narcotic Drugs concluded at New York. The Netherlands is also a party to the 1972 Protocol containing amendments to the Single Convention. A Bill ratifying the accession to the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances is currently being prepared. Responsibility for implementing the Opium Act rests jointly with the Minister forWelfare, Health and Cultural Affairs and the Minister of Justice. The possession, sale, transport, trafficking, manufacture, etc., of all drugs, except for medical or scientific purposes, is now deemed a punishable offence. The Opium Act also provides for the strict supervision of the production and medical use of the drugs referred to in the Act. This pragmatic approach means that hemp (cannabis) products and other drugs are subject to different statutory penalties. Policy in the administration of criminal justice likewise maintains a clear-cut distinction between drug users and traffickers, one of its aims being to avoid classifying the actions of users as offences, as they would then no longer be accessible to any form of prevention or intervention. A distinction is also made between 'drugs presenting unacceptable risks' (such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, amphetamines and hash oil), classified as Schedule I drugs in the Opium Act, and 'hemp (cannabis) products', classified as Schedule ll substances in the Opium Act. The possession of any of these substances for personal use is subject to less severe penalties than possession for the purpose of trafficking. The following table indicates the maximum penalty which can be imposed for offences involving various substances.
Prosecution policy and the expediency principle One of the basic premises of Dutch criminal procedure is the expediency principle laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure whereby the Public Prosecutions Department is empowered to refrain from instituting criminal proceedings if there are weighty public interests to be considered 'on grounds deriving from the general good'. Guidelines have therefore been established for detecting and prosecuting offences under the Opium Act. Similar guidelines also exist for other offences such as the illegal possession of firearms, pirate broadcasting, and exceeding the speed limit. The guidelines contain recommendations regarding the penalties to be imposed and set out the priorities to be observed in detecting and prosecuting offences. The 'Guidelines for detection and prosecution policy for offences under the Opium Act' established in 1976 are based on the priorities already laid down in the Opium Act. Setting priorities implies making choices, and it is self-evident that higher priority will be given to dealing with serious offences than with minor delinquencies. Action against hemp products is usually preceded by tripartite consultation between the burgomaster, public prosecutor and chief of police. The guidelines include recommendations on the detection of the offences referred to above. However, no special action is taken by the police to detect offences involving possession of drugs for personal use, or selling or possessing up to 30 grams of hemp products. Should they come across very small quantities of drugs the police will, however, impound them. The low priority accorded the possession and sale of up to 30 grams of hemp products has resulted in dealers selling small quantities of hemp products in youth centres and coffee shops. The authorities keep an eye on these sales points, and if trade becomes too brisk the centre or coffee shop is closed. Policy aims to maintain a separation between the market for drugs presenting unacceptable risks and the market for hemp products, so that people who use the latter can do so openly and not slide into the fringes of society. If young people experimenting with drugs are obliged to buy the relatively less dangerous hemp products on the illegal market where drugs presenting unacceptable risks also circulate, there is a great risk of their turning to the latter at some point. This process is countered by taking a relatively tolerant attitude towards small-scale dealing in hemp products as conducted in cafes, and at the same time restricting trafficking in other drugs as much as possible.
The situation is constantly under review at local level:
where there is no risk of users 'going underground' action is taken against these coffee shops, mostly in the smaller towns.
This attitude is keeping dealing in hashish as much as possible out of criminal circles, which in turn has resulted in demythologising its use and making it less attractive to young people.

Table of Penalties
SubstanceOffenceMaximum Penalty
1. Schedule I substances
(opiates, cocaine, etc.)		import or export (trafficking)12 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.100,000.- fine
2. Schedule I substances
(opiates, cocaine, etc.)		selling, transporting, manufacturing8 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.100,000.- fine
3. Schedule I substances
(opiates, cocaine, etc.)		planning import or export, etc.6 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.100,000.- fine
4. Schedule I substances
(opiates, cocaine, etc.)		possession4 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.100,000.- fine
5. Hemp products
(hashish & marijuana)		selling, manufacturing,
possession of up to 30 grams		4 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.25,000.- fine
6. Hemp products
(hashish & marijuana)		import or export (trafficking)2 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.100,000.- fine
7. Schedule I substances
(opiates, cocaine, etc.)		selling, manufacturing, possession1 years' imprisonment
and/or Fl.100,000.- fine
8. Hemp products
(hashish & marijuana)		possession for personal use1 month's imprisonment
and/or Fl.5,000.- fine
Explanatory notes
Offences which are punishable under the Opium Act are subject to the general criminal law provision whereby the maximum penalty may be increased by one-third when the offence has been committed more than once. The maximum penalty would then be 16 years' imprisonment.
  • Other offences, such as advertising the sale/supply of drugs, are covered by the Opium Act.
  • Contrary to the general rule, offences under the Opium Act may carry both a penalty of a fine and an unconditional term of imprisonment
  • If the value of the things with which such offences have been committed or which have been obtained wholly or partially by means of such offences, exceeds a quarter of the maximum fine, a fine of one category higher may be imposed: Fl.100,000.- would become Fl.1,000,000.-.
  • In accordance with an amendment to the Opium Act in 1985, both trafficking and activities preparatory to trafficking in Schedule I drugs are now offences. This enables action to be taken at an earlier stage in the chain of trafficking operations and provides greater opportunities for dealing with the organisers. Furthermore, any person who attempts to import drugs into the Netherlands, or who makes preparations to do so or assists another in doing so, is liable to prosecution in the Netherlands, regardless of their nationality. In general, 'conspiring' or planning to commit an offence is not deemed punishable in Dutch criminal law.
  • A Bill is currently being prepared which will greatly facilitate the detection, freezing and confiscation of the proceeds of criminal acts, thereby considerably increasing the efficiency with which national and international drugs traffic can be combated.


Police and judiciary
The larger Municipal Police forces have special criminal investigation departments dealing exclusively with offences under the Opium Act. They receive support from other ClDs or from uniformed police when undertaking major operations. The National and Municipal Police work in close cooperation with the Central Narcotics Agency of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (CRI) in The Hague. The CRI collects information in the Netherlands and abroad and passes it on to the local police, one of its sources being specially appointed drugs liaison officers stationed in Thailand, Pakistan, Peru and elsewhere. A number of foreign police forces have staff stationed in the Netherlands, thus ensuring fruitful cooperation, under the aegis of the CRI, between their countries and the Netherlands.
The police are responsible to the Public Prosecutions Department, which is divided into a number of Public Prosecutor's Offices, to each of which one or more Public Prosecutors are assigned to deal with offences under the Opium Act.
The Dutch police use modern methods of detection, including undercover agents, in their investigation of serious offences under the Opium Act and other forms of organised crime. These agents, who operate in close cooperation with the Public Prosecutions Department, endeavour to expose networks of drug traffickers by presenting themselves as purchasers of narcotics. In 1987 a national unit was established as part of the CRI to support these activities.
The Netherlands, being the gateway to Europe, has always been a country through which goods have been transshipped. Rotterdam is the biggest port in the world. Relatively small quantities of drugs can easily enter the country, concealed among large quantities of legal goods, particularly in containers. The Dutch investigation services cooperate closely with other countries to combat this practice. The Rotterdam customs department now uses computers to detect suspect cargoes, which has greatly improved the efficacy of their operations, dealing, as they have to do, with the enormous quantities of goods that pass throuyh Rotterdam daily. The Dutch police and judiciary also use the 'controlled delivery' method. After the detection of a shipment of drugs police officers practise discrete surveillance in order to ascertain their ultimate destination, and confiscate them only after the receivers have been arrested. This method is also used in cooperation with the criminal investigation authorities of other countries.


Legislation
Legislation is currently being prepared at the Ministry of Justice which will enable money obtained through criminal activities to be confiscated far more easily than is at present the case. Statutory provisions allowing illegal gains to be seized are of prime importance in combating the activities of drug traffickers. The Dutch Government considers international cooperation in this area essential. The new international convention for combating traffic in drugs, which was drawn up under the aegis of the United Nations at the end of 1988, may well prove an appropriate instrument for this purpose.


Prison system
The tougher line taken by the police and judiciary has led to a shortage of prison facilities. Prison building programmes are taking into account that of the 2,000 new cells to be completed in 1990,1,200 will have to be reserved for offenders under the Opium Act.
In an effort to control drug smuggling and drug use in prisons, the government decreed in 1988 that inmates may be subjected to a urine test, which, if it reveals drug use, may lead to transferral to a prison with a stricter regime. Prisoners may themselves choose to be placed in drug-free sections where assistance can be obtained from a medical consultation bureau for alcohol and drug addicts (CAD, see below). There are also programmes for facilitating social rehabilitation.


Combating illegal production
The Netherlands is closely involved in efforts to suppress cocaine and heroin production in the countries where these drugs are traditionally produced. It encourages developments in this direction and participates in projects designed to strengthen the social and economic infrastructure of these countries, for example by introducing substitute crops in the Pakistan UNFDAC project (Fl. 7 million). The Netherlands also contributes to the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control.


Policy on aid and prevention
The following are the most important principles in Dutch policy on aid and prevention:
  1. a multi-functional network of medical and social services, geared to the problem as a whole, should be built up at local or regional level;
  2. aid must be easily accessible;
  3. the social rehabilitation of present and former drug addicts should be promoted;
  4. the fullest use should be made of services not specifically geared to the drug problem, such as general practitioners and youth welfare services;
  5. since there is more to prevention than publicity campaigns, the role of information should not be overestimated; preference should be given to a general health education campaign for young people of which information on drug abuse is part, rather than that drugs be made a separate issue;

a. A multi-functional network
The development of aid networks is dependent at local level on municipal executives and may vary from town to town. If necessary, municipal authorities may cooperate to form a regional network. The pattern of services provided by different local networks also varies, combining any of the following: b. Making help more accessible
Every effort is made to reach and assist as many addicts as possible, which approach can claim a success rate of between 70% and 80%. Assistance is not aimed solely at combating addiction and the behaviour associated with it, since people who do not feel the need to get off drugs or are not capable of doing so, would remain beyond the reach of help, which could lead to further social isolation, degradation and marginalization. There are forms of assistance which are not primarily intended to end addiction as such but to improve addicts' physical well-being and help them to function in society, the inability to give up drug use being accepted as a fact for the time being. This kind of assistance is called 'harm reduction' and may take the form of field work, initial reception, the supply of substitute drugs, material support and opportunities for social rehabilitation.
Failure to provide this type of care and support, would simply make matters worse and increase the risk to the individual and to society. The long-term objective of this approach is to help addicts achieve a drug-free existence.
The broad ambit and easy accessibility of care are also regarded as essential to the effective implementation of aids prevention measures. These include information on 'safe' sex and 'safe' drug use which, in most cities, includes 'new syringes and needles for old' exchange programmes. A number of cities are conducting easily accessible, informal assistance projects for prostitutes who are addicted to drugs, and organising self-help groups, including what are known as junkie unions. Aids tests can be taken voluntarily at the Municipal Health Services.

c. Promoting social rehabilitation
Promoting the social rehabilitation of addicts and former addicts is of importance as they generally have little prospect of obtaining work or some other meaningful occupation, training or accommodation. Attention is therefore given at the earliest possible stage to developing realistic alternatives for addicts. This means that assistance in such matters as housing (supervised or otherwise), training and finding appropriate employ- ment is not only important in the after-care stage, but is indispensable from the outset. Only then can addicts be sufficiently motivated to take part in an assistance programme.

d. Greater and more efficient use of primary care facilities
In recent years it has been realised that services specifically for addicts must be limited to the absolutely essential to avoid restricting the accessibility of aid services and to avoid stigmatising drug users.
Projects have been set up to encourage addicts and former addicts to make use of general facilities, including health and social services and youth welfare and housing facilities that are available to all members of the public, as a means of preserving or re-establishing social integration.

e. Prevention
The basic premise here is that information on the risks of drug use and on the risks attaching to the abuse of alcohol and tobacco should be presented together. This general information has been incorporated in the primary school subject 'healthy living'. Secondary school pupils are also encouraged to act responsibly in this respect. The significance of information as a means of preventing drug (and alcohol) abuse should not be overestimated, however. Various studies have shown that publicity is ineffective in preventing the problem of drug abuse, particularly where it seeks to emphasize the dangers involved by presenting warning, deterring or sensational facts. Publicity of this kind, which is likely to be one-sided and often counter-productive, is therefore rejected by the Dutch government which is likewise disinclined to conduct mass media campaigns on the subject. The example of parents and other role models has been found to be of greater influence. Research into the lifestyles of heroin addicts in the Netherlands has given rise to new attitudes towards prevention and widened understanding for the reasons why people turn to drugs; it has also called into question the possibility of prevention, especially by means of information. Moreover, it was found that to start using drugs does not automatically lead to addiction. A large number of people experiment with drugs without actually becoming addicted. There are many types of users with many different lifestyles. Measures to prevent occasional users from becoming addicted are therefore extremely important and preventing problems is accordingly given greater emphasis than preventing the use of drugs.
In view of the above, the Dutch government believes that drug use should be shorn of its taboo image and its sensational and emotional overtones. The image of the addict should be demythologised and reduced to its real proportions, for it is precisely the stigma paradoxically enough, that exercises such a strong attraction on some young people.
Drug users should be treated as far as possible as 'normal' people of whom 'normal' demands are made and who are given 'normal' opportunities. This means that drug users, or even addicts, should not be regarded primarily as criminals nor as dependent. helpless patients. They too have their responsibilities and obligations, and addiction cannot be an excuse for criminal behaviour. It is obvious from the lifestyles of many drug users that they have to a certain extent been consciously chosen.

Services, organisations and funding medical and social services:
the Medical Consultation Bureaus for Alcohol and Drug Problems The Medical Consultation Bureaus for Alcohol and Drug Problems (CADs) are autonomous non-governmental institutions, the entire costs of which are borne directly by central government provided they conform to certain conditions. 75% of these funds are provided by the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs and 25% by the Ministry of Justice, since the CADs are also active in the field of probation. The CADs are concerned with alcoholics and drug addicts whose problems are in many respects similar. Although the CADs primarily provide non-residential mental health care, their services are oriented towards social welfare, as the majority of their staff (900 in all) are social workers. The objectives of individual CADs may vary somewhat from overcoming addiction through treatment to stabilising the condition of addicts by supplying methadone on a 'maintenance basis', which means that the dosage is not gradually reduced to nil, as is the case when the drug is supplied on a 'reduction basis'. A variety of methods are used, including psychotherapy, group therapy, material assistance, family therapy, counselling, and advising groups of parents. An increasingly important area of the CADs' work is to advise teachers and members of general health and welfare services, such as general practitioners and youth workers, so that they themselves are able to inform and advise others. A further aspect of the CADs' work is the initial reception of alcoholics and drug addicts in police stations, where an effort is made to establish contact that will lead to the acceptance of assistance and counselling during and after detention in penal institutions. The nationwide network of CADs comprises 17 main branches, 44 subsidiary branches and 45 consulting rooms. The total budget for 1989 amounts to Fl. 72 million.
Municipal methadone programmes
Several municipal authorities have set up their own methadone programmes which are run by the municipal health care services (budget: approx. Fl. 7 million). The drug may be supplied on a reduction basis (the dose is gradually reduced) or on a maintenance basis (a constant dose). Methadone is now supplied either by a CAD or the municipal health care service in virtually all municipalities with a drug problem. At the beginning of 1988 methadone was being supplied to 6,500 addicts daily in approximately 55 municipalities.
Social welfare services ~youth projects~
The projects for young people are part of a wide range of social welfare services aimed partly or specifically at drug users, and geared primarily to prevention. Multiple-risk groups are not uncommon, such as the unemployed, ethnic minorities, and young people from marginal groups. The choice of projects can best be made at local level. The projects listed below concentrate on different types of aid and are geared to young people in particular: they are easily accessible and are designed to have the widest possible outreach.
  1. projects aimed at preventing the social isolation of addicts;
  2. projects aimed at making contact with addicts and referring them to general or specialised aid agencies;
  3. social assistance and crisis centre projects;
  4. day and night centres where psychosocial assistance is provided;
  5. social rehabilitation projects for addicts and former addicts, comprising such facilities as supervised accommodation, vocational and other training, assistance in adjusting to work, and possibly aftercare following some form of treatment.
Finally, a number of services are targeted to specific groups on the basis of their religious affiliation or ethnic and cultural identity. The total budget for 1989 amounts to approximately Fl. 50 million for almost 90 projects in 45 municipalities. Roughly one half of the total spent on assistance to addicts is allocated to the four major cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, whilst one third is spent on people from former Dutch colonies overseas. Assistance to addicts of Surinamese origin has increased considerably, drug use among Moluccans is decreasing sharply, whilst youngsters from the Mediterranean countries, including Morocco, are turning to drugs in greater numbers. Some 500 people are employed in these services.
Residential facilities
Residential facilities for the treatment of drug addicts and alcoholics are situated throughout the Netherlands, providing a total of 900 beds for the two categories of patients between which no sharp distinction is made. These facilities may take the form of independent clinics or special units in general psychiatric hospitals.
Various types of treatment are available:

The following Fact Sheets are available in this series:
Welfare work for minorities (FS-1-E; FS-2-E)
Health care (FS-4-E)
Care of the aged (FS-5-E)
Broadcasting (FS-7-E)
Cultural policy (FS-8-E)
The preservation of monuments (FS-9-E)
Home help services (FS-11-E)
Sports (FS-12-E)
Music and dance (FS-13-E)
Film (FS-15-E)
Social policy on the handicapped (FS-18-E)
Child abuse (FS-20-E)
Voluntary work (FS-21-E)
Press (FS-23-E)
Literature (FS-28-E)
Public libraries (FS-30-E)
Museums and museum policy (FS-31-E)
Archaeology (FS-32-E)
Public records (FS-33-E)
Adult education (FS-35-E)