What's Up in Brabant: XTC trial

The local politics of our two provinces is often forgotten because of all the chaos in The Hague, but that certainly does not make it any less interesting or important! Any newsletter we highlight the politics of both provinces. This newsletter's articles are scavenged by two former BZ and current national board members, Luc Goos and Rick Baerends! An article about is about an XTC trial in Brabant, written by Luc Goos, and an article about Hugo de Jonge's statements about "import Zeelanders", written by Rick Baerends.

This is Luc's article, Rick's article is also on our site, check that out here!

It's time for an XTC trial

By Luc Goos

The Netherlands has a special history when it comes to drug policy. We used to be considered a 'guiding country'; in the 1960s, cannabis was already allowed in some municipalities. We have since lost that 'guiding role'. Uruguay is the country that completely legalised cannabis, from production to sale. Canada now has legislation that allows as much as the Dutch, and steps are being made there to legalise production as well. On weed, meanwhile, good steps are also being made here. The cannabis trial, in which 10 municipalities are experimenting with legal production of cannabis for sale in coffee shops, is currently under way. In Breda and Tilburg, they have been running for six months. The first results are pleasing; for growers, sellers and users, this seems to be the way forward.

The taboo surrounding weed was broken years ago. In Brabant, the future of legal weed is already in full swing. Therefore, it is time to broaden the social discussion around drugs. Starting with one of the biggest taboos: XTC.

Your pill is no secret, and that's just as well

Festivals can be found all over the country where it is common knowledge that visitors take a pill there. The security guard searching the bag containing a fan, sunglasses and lollipops; knows about it. The first-aiders ready to take care of people who don't go well; know about it. The municipality, which maps and weighs the risks for every major event; knows about it. But if it is forbidden, why is so little done about it?

The answer is as simple as it is surprising: it is tolerated. As with weed, there is a situation where the drugs are illegal, but possession is not seriously controlled. Checking for use makes no sense, as that is legal. But on possession it is simple: you can have a maximum of one XTC pill in your pocket, the average user is above that. If the enforcer wants to, she can shut down an entire festival with one strict search.

However, the drawbacks are significant. When users go to home parties, professional help is further away. Besides, information is easier at big festivals and events: tents of welfare organisations and educators are full of attention. Visitors can talk to professionals about the risks in an approachable way; you don't have that at a party in a barn in the countryside or in a student dorm in the city.

Billion-dollar business

The Netherlands is playing into the hands of criminals with this approach. The market is huge, with estimates running towards 20 billion euros for the Dutch drug trade alone. The criminal drug industry is not only directly dangerous to human lives. Nature also suffers. In Brabant alone, 151 drug production sites were found in 2023, many of which were found because illegal chemical waste was dumped, resulting in major damage to nature. Not to mention the labs not found. The conclusion seems clear: this cannot go on like this.

Conservative parties are quick to point to making drug use illegal. But this criminalisation does little to help. A drug user who gets into trouble is less likely to seek help if doing so risks punishment. This increases the health risks for the user. In addition, the self-determination argument is important: people should be able to decide for themselves what they do with their bodies, even if it might be bad for them.

XTC trial

A better solution, as with the cannabis trial, would be to seek the solution in a trial of regulated production of XTC. The advantages are numerous: criminals are put out of business, research can be done on safe production methods and production waste can be disposed of safely.

That leaves one question. Who dares? Which minister of health or justice and security dares to break the taboo? Or, in the absence of decisiveness in this cabinet, which local administrator dares to make it discussable? Let the Netherlands become a guiding country again. This time on XTC policy. Users, enforcement, and nature cannot wait.