Windmills in Their Minds? Drug Policy and Drug Research in the Netherlands

Abstract

Contemporary Dutch drug policy is a product of many long-term political, demographic and social changes that have taken place in the Netherlands since the nation's first drug law was enacted in 1919. Shifts in policy emphasis are described and explained in terms of three principles that serve as the cornerstones of the Dutch approach, these include the following: (1) a separation of the markets for hard and soft drugs; (2) normalization of the phenomenon, which means treating drug users as ordinary citizens entitled to government assistance, but also required to assume responsibility for their actions; and (3) harm reduction efforts directed at minimizing the damage done by drugs to users, communities and to the society as a whole. The changing policies regarding cannabis are utilized here as a case study to illustrate how these principles work in practice. Several contemporary issues are analyzed in terms of their influence on recent policy changes. These include drug-related nuisance, the participation of organized crime in drug markets and criticism from abroad regarding the impact of Dutch policies on other nations. The article concludes with a reconsideration of the effects of decriminalizing cannabis, contrasting the Dutch application of the expediency principle with its use in other nations.