Netherlands
Cocaine and Ecstasy in the pharmacy? Amsterdam’s mayor calls for new approaches to drug policy
Femke Halsema has been mayor of Amsterdam since 2018
© Robin Utrecht / Action Press
Will it soon be possible to buy cocaine legally in Amsterdam? According to Dutch mayor Femke Halsema, this could be the right way to reduce the burden on the police.
A regulated market for drugs like Cocaine and ecstasy are the only way to defeat drug smuggling and its “disastrous” impact on the Dutch capital, according to the mayor of Amsterdam. “You could imagine getting cocaine in pharmacies or through a medical model,” said Femke Halsema in an interview with the AFP news agency.
“War on Drugs” in Amsterdam has failed
The “war on drugs” has not been able to stop the violent and billion-dollar underworld, said the 57-year-old, who has ruled the city’s town hall since 2018. In Amsterdam, a drug trafficking hub, 80 percent of police activities are dedicated to fighting drug-related crime.
“I think some drugs are dangerous, and I also think it’s smart to reduce drug use. But I also realize that the way we’re doing it isn’t helping,” she continued. That’s why we need to think about better ways to regulate drugs. In addition to a regulated cocaine market, she could also imagine a market for drugs such as ecstasy.
The idea of a “civilized market”
“Isn’t it ridiculous that we leave drug trafficking to criminals and don’t try to find a way to a civilized market?” asked Halsema. The criminologist’s stance is controversial – one of her critics is Bart de Wever, the mayor of Antwerp, an important gateway to Europe for drugs.
At the end of January, Halsema invited other city representatives and experts to a conference in Amsterdam to discuss “how and not whether” cities should regulate drugs. “Anyone who thinks a little bit about ways to really reduce the influence of drug traffickers comes to this conclusion (…) that there really is no alternative,” she said.