Dutch policy on the management of drug-related problems

Abstract

It is argued that the drug abuse problem should not be primarily seen as a problem of police and justice. It is essentially a manner of health. The Dutch acknowledge that the international repressive, prohibitive approach leads to unintentional negative side-effects, both for the individual and for society. They try to avoid a situation in which consumers of cannabis suffer more damage from the criminal proceedings than from the use of the drug itself. They opt rather for a realistic and practical approach to the drug problem than for a moralistic and over-dramatized one. The Dutch alternative is the normalization of the drug problem, as a pragmatic compromise between two extreme options: an intensified war on drugs and legalization. The implications of the normalization approach for the prevention and treatment policies are discussed: AIDS-prevention, harm reduction instead of detoxification and de-mystification. It is suggested that the policy of normalization is rather successful and does not produce an increase of drug use.