13. Drugs
Amsterdam's drug policy is a purely pragmatic one. The capital has a population of
more than 720,000, including approximately 6,000 hard drug users. The policy is
mainly focused on discouraging the use of hard drugs and combating the drug trade.
In addition, every effort is made to restrict the risks run by addicts themselves
and the drug-related problems imposed on the rest of society. In Amsterdam's drug
policy a distinction is drawn between hard drugs and soft drugs.
About 1,500 of the 6,000 hard drug users are of Dutch origin, 1500 are from
Surinam, the Netherlands Antilles and Morocco, and about 3,000 are from other
countries in Europe, mainly Germany, Italy and England.
The average age of the addicts has risen in recent years from 26.8 in 1981 to 35.0
in 1994. In the same period, the percentage of drug addicts under the age of 22
fell from 14.4 to 2.1%.
Policy of Discouragement
With respect to the use of drugs, Amsterdam adheres to a policy of discouragement.
Active efforts are being made to combat the drug trade: the regional
Amsterdam-Amstelland police force is fighting drug problems by means of
decentralised units - the district teams where the basic police work is carried
out - and the Central Criminal Investigation Bureau.
This discouragement also takes place by way of an intensive information campaign
on the consequences and risks of drug use.
The policy of discouragement means that the police take an extremely intensive
line of action in dealing with drug addicts who commit crimes. In recent years,
there has been a sharp rise in the number of policemen assigned to combat
drug-related crime.
The attitude of the Amsterdam authorities towards drug addicts from abroad without
legal status has been part of the discouragement policy. They do not have access
to the assistance programmes Amsterdam has set up for its own drug addicts and
only receive help in emergency situations. In addition, they are actively assisted
in returning to their country of origin.
Hard Drugs and Soft Drugs
The Dutch policy on drugs differs in a number of ways from the policies of other
countries. One of these differences is the distinction drawn between the approach
to hard and soft drugs. Ever since 1976, this difference has been stipulated by
law: the possession of hard drugs is a felony and the possession of a small
quantity of soft drugs is a misdemeanour. 'A small quantity of soft drugs' means a
maximum of thirty grams.
Amsterdam has approximately four hundred coffee shops and similar locales where
soft drugs are - illegally - bought and sold. This trade is permitted under the
following conditions: no sale of alcohol, no trade in hard drugs, no sales to
persons under 18 years, no advertising and no sales exceeding 30 grams. If more
than 30 grams of soft drugs are present in a coffee shop or other trading
location, or if hard drugs are sold or there are disturbances of the peace, the
police will immediately have the premises closed down.
There is an extremely intensive check on places of this kind.
As a result of this policy, a distinction has been formed between the soft drug
trade and the hard drug trade. The soft drug trade in coffee shops has been
'decriminalised' and thus also the soft drug user. Studies have indicated that
very few users make the transition from soft drugs to hard drugs and that the
number of users has virtually remained the same since 1976.
Assistance Programmes
A number of assistance programmes have been developed for addicts, the most widely
known being the methadon programme. In a mobile dispensary and a number of
stationary units, drug addicts receive a daily dose of methadon. Every day, the
mobile dispensary drives to a number of regular spots in the city.
By providing addicts with methadon, the Municipal Medical and Public Health
Service has regular contact with most of the addicts. This makes it possible to
give the addicts certain useful information and, if so desired, offer them further
help. This further help includes drug rehabilitation programmes and assistance in
the social sphere. The methadon enables drug addicts to continue to function
within society in a more or less normal fashion.
The use of the same injection needle by various addicts can lead to the spread of
AIDS and hepatitis B. In order to restrict such occurrences, there are ten sites
in Amsterdam where addicts can exchange used needles for new ones free of charge.
In the recent past, more than 1,000,000 needles have been exchanged this way every
year.
This 'needle exchange' has been set up at the request of organisations that
promote the interests of drug users. A survey has indicated that it has not led to
any increase in this form of drug use. In Amsterdam, only 30% of the addicts take
drugs intravenously. The so-called 'Chinese method' (inhaling the heroin fumes),
enjoys greater popularity among users.
Street Junkie Project
There re about 1000 drug addicts in Amsterdam who can be considered a public
nuisance. Generally, they have no permanent address, no source of income and live
in the city centre. Many of them see to their daily needs by stealing and they
cause problems in the neighbourhoods in which they hang out.
In an effort to alleviate this problem, the 'street junkie project' was set up.
Criminal drug users who have been arrested four or more times within a short
period of time are given a choice. They can either do a non-suspended sentence for
all the crimes they have committed or they can sign up for a drug rehabilitation
programme, which they then have to complete.
The project, which was set up in close conjunction with the national authorities,
started at the beginning of 1989. By early 1990, the project was fully operational
and additional cells and beds at a drug rehabilitation clinic (Jellinek) have
become available.
Foreign Addicts
Amsterdam has about 3,000 foreign hard drug addicts, most of them transients. In
the past few years, Dutch authorities and various social agencies have established
contact with the authorities in other European countries with respect to this
point. The aim of these contacts is to develop assistance programmes so that
foreign drug addicts can return to their own countries and get the help they need
there.
The agreements made in this connection only pertain to drug users who have not
committed any crime in the Netherlands. If they have, they are deported. The
transfer of deported drug addicts takes place in close co-operation with the
authorities of other European countries.
As a result of these measures and the discouragement policy pursued by Amsterdam,
the Dutch capital is no longer a Mecca for the drug users of Europe. This news is
gradually spreading to foreign drug users.
Results
The Amsterdam policy on drugs has enabled medical and social agencies to establish
contact with approximately 85% of all the drug addicts in the city. The number of
drug addicts infected with Aids or hepatitis B is much lower than in other
European and North American cities.
Compared with other large cities in Europe and North America, the drug addicts of
Amsterdam are not responsible for large-scale serious crime. There is a growing
desire among them to stop using drugs.
Calculated over a period of several years, the number of addicts in Amsterdam is
declining. The reduction in the number of young addicts has been the most
striking.
New Target Groups in the Policy on Drugs
Drug abuse is continually undergoing changes. New substances appear on the scene,
and new user groups experiment with or become addicted to drugs. This process
therefore requires a flexible approach to policy-making. And that is reflected in
the history of Amsterdam's drug policy, characterised by four stages: the Mosaic
Model from the seventies, the Circuit Model from the early eighties, the
Integration Model from the second half of the eighties, and the Target Group and
Tailor-Made Model which we are advocating now. Without going into detail, it can
be stated that these models complied with the problems and requirements of users
as well as society in the periods in question.
New policy can be developed on the basis of information on new potentially
high-risk groups. This is by definition a process which must precede the emergence
of the actual problems. In terms of a drug policy, this is preventive rather than
curative.
In its present and future policy, Amsterdam is taking four newly observed target
groups into account: young Moroccan and Antillean people, young drifters and young
people in the 'going-out' circuit. These four groups share one common
characteristic, namely that they do not or hardly ever maintain ties with the
present drug scene. In addition, they distinguish themselves from one another. We
can roughly divide them into two groups.
First of all, the experimenters. This is the group of young people in the
'going-out' circuit, many of whom are still attending school and can be found in
coffee shops. Characteristics of the members of this group are that they:
usually are well integrated into society;
often use new and more or less soft drugs such as alcohol and hashish, and some hard drugs such as XTC and cocaine;
show no symptoms of addiction;
have a short user history;
do not steal to pay for their drugs;
are usually young and single.
In summarising, one could say that some of the young people in this group will
undoubtedly run into problems, but the majority of them - chalking it up to either
a positive or negative experience - will become part of normal society.
The second group, consisting of the three remaining categories, can be classified
under the denominator of fringe groups. Characteristics of the members of this
group are that they:
often use new and more or less soft drugs such as alcohol, hashish, and some hard drugs such as XTC and cocaine;
are interested in fringe-group scenes;
do not steal to pay for their drugs;
do show signs of other criminal behaviour;
use drugs as a result of a criminal lifestyle;
show no symptoms of addiction;
link their user history to a fringe-group history;
are relatively often found in the group of legal or illegal foreigners;
grow in numbers as the fringe-group problems increase.
First of all, some factual data about this group.
Approximately 200,000 young people in the age category of 0 to 24 years live in
Amsterdam. An average of 35 to 40% of the Amsterdam youths are of foreign origin,
and in the age group of up to 16 years, this is nearly 50%. Concerning drug abuse,
the relevant groups in the age category of 13 to 24 years who live in Amsterdam
consists of 1700 Antillean youths, 7500 Moroccan youths and 3000 young drifters. A
number of Antillean and Moroccan youths also appear in the drifters' category and
are therefore counted twice. Naturally, not all of these young people belong to
the high-risk group, but we estimate that approximately 20 to 30% of them are
indeed in this group.
The policy geared to this potentially high-risk group is, as already mentioned
before, a preventive policy. It can be divided into two parts.
On the one hand, the Amsterdam drug relief programme is being reorganised with the
aim of increasing its flexibility and quality. Here, the co-operation between the
drug relief programme and the youth welfare services also plays an important role.
The Jellinek Centre, among others, is active in developing these co-operative
projects. As a result of these efforts, the present relief services will be
adapted to current requirements and made accessible to the aforementioned new
target groups.
On the other hand, projects are being set up and implemented in order to prevent
young people from becoming disadvantaged. A good example is the project 'New
perspectives for disadvantaged young people'.
Of central importance in the approach to this project is the notion that having an
education and a job are the most important factors in the prevention of these
problems and therefore also of drug abuse. Young people who have been in trouble
with the police or school attendance officers are given the option of returning to
school or going to work. If they do not want to co-operate, all available
sanctions are imposed. The motto underlying this action is 'Help those who want to
but can't, and punish those who can but won't.'
These are some of the ways the municipality of Amsterdam tries to prevent the
development of a new generation of drug users and offers effective help to those
who nevertheless do use drugs.
Amsterdam: Facts and Figures