The merchant, the priest, and the humble engineer. Observations on the Rotterdam drug scene
Authors: Partanen Juha 
Published: January 2018

The Dutch policy on drugs has often been criticized in other countries. It has been claimed that the Netherlands has given up the fight against drugs and does not fulfill its international responsibilities. The purpose of this article is to show that the drug problem is taken seriously in the Netherlands, and plenty of resources are used to deal with it. The Dutch view on the nature of the problem and appropriate ways to treat drug users, however, is different from what is common elsewhere.

The object of the study is the drug scene and the administration of drug-related services in Rotterdam. The focus in this article is on the relationship between drug users and the drug control system. The study draws upon observations and documents, and numerous interviews with civil servants, treatment staff, and drug users during a three-week visit in Rotterdam.

In Rotterdam there are separate markets for cannabis and hard drugs. About 150 cafes are permitted to sell cannabis products provided they follow the rules: no sales to minors under 18 years of age, no alcohol, no hard drugs, no advertising. Hard drugs are sold illegally in 300-400 apartments located in the older parts of the city.

The number of hard drug users is estimated to be 2500 - 4000, and the majority of them are registered in the Rotterdam Drug Information System (RODIS), which makes them eligible to use the services provided by the city for addicted drug users, gamblers, and alcoholics.

No legal sanctions relate to smoking of cannabis or to possession of small amounts, whereas large-scale trade, smuggling, and commercial cultivation are criminal activities. Neither is the use of hard drugs or possession for personal use criminalized. The core of the drug problem is seen to be on the one hand the nuisance caused by those addicted hard-drug users who resort to petty crime and threaten the safety of other people, leading to the deterioration of the urban environment, and on the other hand the threat to the economy and politics of the country created by criminal drug organizations.

In dealing with drug-related nuisance the aim is harm reduction. The central idea is the normalization of the drug problem. This means that efforts are made to keep drug users in contact with society, instead of pushing them outside by pursuing repressive policies. The threshold to health and social services and to treatment is kept as low as possible. At the same time addicts are held responsible for their behavior, and they are required to follow the regulations of the institutions providing support and treatment.

Decisions concerning drug policies in Rotterdam are made at the top level, by the mayor, the public prosecutor, and the chief of police. They are assisted by the aldermen responsible for health, social affairs, and public order, and by commissions set up by the city council. Two remarkable aspects of the administration of drug-related affairs are a close cooperation between health authorities and the police, and an emphasis on Japanese-style neighborhood policing. The support and treatment services for drug users are run by private foundations that are fully financed by the government and the city. The extent and the variety of available services is impressive, ranging from consultation bureaus and daycare centers to intensive care units and a methadone dispensing program for 1 200 daily customers. The extensive system of municipal services is supplemented by voluntary aid mainly provided by churches and religious organizations.

The Dutch way of dealing with the drug problem thus combines tolerance for drug use with a comprehensive network of services for drug users and a strict and carefully designed administration. Such an approach derives from the traditions of governance and political culture in Dutch society. These are crystallized in three character masks: those of the pragmatic and prudent merchant who is more concerned with practical problems than lofty ideals, the charitable and paternalistic priest, and the humble engineer who in his age-long fight against floods has learned that nature can be controlled but never fully tamed.