A Social History of Drug Use in the Netherlands: Policy Outcomes and Implications

• Author: Govert F. van de Wijngaart
• DOI: 10.1177/002204268801800312
• Published date: 01 July 1988
• Date: 01 July 1988
• Subject Matter: Article

The

Journal

of

Drug

Issues, 18(3), 481-495, 1988

ASOCIAL HISTORY

OF

DRUG

USE

IN

THE

NETHERLANDS:

POLICY OUTCOMES AND IMPLICATIONS

Govert

F.

van

de

Wijngaart

The Netherlands, a prosperous country with

many

ports, is an invitingplace for trading

and

transport-

ing

illegal

psychotropic

substances.

Moreover,

because

of

the liberal climate, the country has a long

tradition as a place where people like to reside. This

article describes developments in the Netherlands

with a focus on those issues

that

can be described as

"typically Dutch": the social welfare

and

health care

systems, the history

of

drug use, the divergent Opium

Act, the provision

of

methadone,

and

the governmen-

tal policy on aid

and

prevention. The author con-

cludes that the Dutch have ceased to look for the "one

and

only" solution, but are learning how to cope with

new developments by means

of

"normalization."

Introduction:

The

Netherlands

in

Brief

The Netherlands is a small,

but

densely populated and highly developed,

country situated in Western Europe on the North Sea. More

than

half

of

the

country lies below sea level and

the

many dikes and pumping installations are,

therefore, essential to keep the land dry. The Netherlands is a constitutional

monarchy with aparliamentarysystem. The seat ofgovernment is Den Haag(The

Hague); Amsterdam is the capital. The surface

area

is 37,313 square kilometers

and

the

country has a little over 14.3 million inhabitants, i.e., 423 inhabitants per

square kilometer. The most densely populated

area

is the "Randstad" conurbation

in

the

west country which comprises Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and

Utrecht. The most important economic activities are commerce, shipping and

transit

trade. The labor force is 4.8 million: 63% are in the services sector,

31%

are in industry and 6% are in agriculture and fisheries. Approximately 40%

of

the

workers

are

members oftrade unions. Unemployment is +15%of

the

labor

force or about 700,000 people

(cf

Switzerland-1%,

France-9%,

the United

Govert

F.

van

de

Wijngaart

is s profsssor with the Department of Psychology,Faculty of Behavioral and Social Science.

University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. '

oJournal of Drug Issues, Inc. 0022-04261881031481-495 $1.00

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