Page 40 - WHACK35

DR U G T E S T IN G IN T HE NE T HE R L AND S
by Mala van Reemst

I L L E G A L O R N OT, P E O P L E U S E D R U G S . illicit drug market, and surveillance to the possible spread of this drug. If spe-
The use of drugs comes with certain signal risks and dangers to the public cific risk criteria are met, this can lead to
health related risks. The Dutch Minis- health at an early stage. a so-called ‘Red-Alert’, which leads to a
try of Health recognized that, in an open With 22 test locations spread regional or national warning campaign
society, drugs are quite readily available throughout the Netherlands, DIMS pro- alerting the public of this dangerous
and therefore drug use is unavoidable. vides weekly walk-in hours where users batch of drugs. A Red-Alert can also be
From the end of the 1980s, as in many are allowed to bring 1 sample per per- triggered by information through other
other Western countries, the Nether- son (1 pill or about one dose of a drug). channels, such as the Monitor Drug In-
lands saw big changes in the types of The service is completely anonymous. cidents.
drugs and user groups as the rave-mu- After a range of specific measurements, In 2014 and 2015 a total of 6 red alerts
sic scene increased in popularity. Policies 1 in 3 pills get recognized in the database and a range of smaller warnings were ac-
of the early 1990s were characterized by straight away and the user gets a direct tivated, varying from ecstasy pills con-
a lack of knowledge about drug trends, result of exactly what is in the pill. Pills taining the dangerous substance PMMA,
and the potential risks of different drugs. that don’t get recognized or other sam- highly dosed pills and powders, and
However, the increasing use of synthet- ples can be sent to the laboratory for fur- warnings about drugs bought online
ic drugs, such as ecstasy, started to show ther analysis. Results of the laboratory containing substances other than those
very different effects and risks than the analysis are available for the user 1 week advertised. These warnings were spread
more traditionally used drugs such as later. through social and traditional media and
heroin and other opioids. In addition to drug testing, the service posters at parties and festivals.
Instead of dr Netherlandsug dependency, the most provides objective health education to Another example is white heroin,
important risks became damage to the users about the effects and risks of spe- sold as cocaine on Amsterdam streets,
user’s health. Therefore, in 1992 the cific drugs and where to find informa- which led to the unfortunate death of
Dutch Ministry of Health made drug tion on how to minimize these risks. 3 British tourists. In response to this,
testing for users possible through the If the tested sample contains unex- light signs warned tourists about the
Drug Information Monitoring System pected contents that are a direct health deaths, and discouraged buying cocaine
(DIMS). DIMS has 2 main goals: moni- risk to the population, the user will be from street dealers. Cocaine alert post-
toring and surveillance. Monitoring, to asked additional questions (still anony- ers were placed throughout Amsterdam
know what drugs are currently on the mously) to gather more information on

40 W H A C K P. I E D I T I O N : S P R I N G 2 0 16

WHACK35_LYOT.indd 40 11-Oct-16 4:25:25 PM