The chain producer-consumer was short, the production local. In 1988 XTC was brought under the Dutch Narcotic Law on list I as are heroin, cocaine etc. As a result many small producers stopped their production. However, at the same time the popularity of XTC increased logarithmically. Goals and methods.
Harm reduction is a preventive goal.
In this respect we will refer to the three prevention levels of Caplan. One might state that the law has resulted in a reduction of the availability of the drug, however, this is not the whole story. The demand is met with the supply of more dangerous drugs. The crux of the problem lies in the fact that narcotic laws take away the responsability for individual behaviour from the individual and places it in the hands of the government. The availability of all sorts of illegal drugs makes clear that governments are not able to bear this responsability.