In the Netherlands, the mayor of Amsterdam is in favor of regulating certain hard drugs

Several countries are trying to regulate the drug market to combat drug trafficking. In Canada, British Columbia has relaxed its regulations in 2023. In the Netherlands, the mayor of Amsterdam wants to authorize the dispensing of certain substances in pharmacies.

A shocking proposition. Cannabis has already been authorized in the Netherlands since 2019, but the mayor of Amsterdam wants to go even further. In an interview given to AFP on Tuesday April 16, Femke Halsema suggested authorizing the delivery of certain hard drugs such as cocaine or MDMA to pharmacists or doctors. “One could imagine that cocaine could be obtained from pharmacists or via a medical model“, says Femke Halsema, who since 2018 has held the reins of the city known worldwide for its coffeeshops and its commercial and tourist excitement.

“I also think that some drugs are dangerous and that it is wise to reduce their consumption.” but “the way we are doing things is not helping (…) we will have to think about the best ways to regulate drugs“, according to the councilor who believes that putting MDMA on the market should even be considered.

Canada’s Test

According to her, the measure would make it possible to fight against drug trafficking, while “80% of police activities are devoted to combating drug-related crime.” One country has already experimented with regulating hard drugs: Canada. Cannabis has already been legalized there since 2018 and, since last year, British Columbia, the westernmost province of the country, has been experimenting with the decriminalization of certain hard drugs.

Cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA or even certain opioids, users arrested with less than 2.5 grams are not prosecuted and the drug is not seized. The police, however, provide them with information so that they can get help. A measure approved by Didier Jutras-Aswad, associate professor in the department of psychiatry and addictology at the University of Montreal, who judges that anti-drug policies have had very little effect so far, “vor even deleterious effects on the health of people who have an addiction, he adds. When we make this type of change, there is also a way to explain why we are doing it, the fact of trivializing the effects of substance use.”

Lack of perspective on experimentation

The specialist, however, judges that decriminalization must be accompanied by public health measures. In particular a “access to naloxone, an antidote that can be administered to reverse opioid overdoses. We also talk about places where people can go to consume substances, in a safe place, where people in the event of an overdose, for example, can have access to care and treatment for addiction.”

For the moment, experts still lack perspective to assess the effectiveness of this experiment which should end at the beginning of 2026.