I'm getting the train to Utrecht in the Netherlands on Thursday for the opening of the world's first MDMA shop.
THREAD 🧵
1/
Sadly the shop is only a demo/ proof of concept at this stage; a research project from @poppiamsterdam & mainline.nl that cant yet actually retail MDMA - but seeks to engage stakeholders in the debate on how regulation should work
But they have built a real shop..
2/
The set-up presents three different models for how retail MDMA might function.
1. A low threshold nightclub retail model
2. A more strictly regulated pharmacy-type sales model
3. A 'smart shop' model (somewhere between 1 & 2)
3/
Its open to the public from Friday till middle of September
See here for details:
poppi.amsterdam
Visitors interact with the different models - and receive packaging with dummy pills - then give their reactions - to help inform policy development going forward.
4/
The Utrecht physical outlet(s) has evolved from a interactive virtual MDMA store that @poppiamsterdam established online during lockdown - which you can explore here (even if you cant make it to the Netherlands): xtc-shop.org/index.html
5/
Weve been discussing these ideas with Mainline colleagues for what feels like years now , so its brilliant to see it coming to fruition, & I'm happy to see the pharmacy model outlet drawing on proposals in Transforms 'How to regulate stimulants' book
transformdrugs.org/publications/h…
6/
It seems right that this happens in the Netherlands - where a significant proportion of all illegal MDMA production occurs - creating an array of problems from gangsterism to environmental damage from chemical waste dumping.
vice.com/en/article/qj8…
7/
The Netherlands, in part because of the illegal mkt issues, and in part because, well, its the Netherlands (which has historically been v. pragmatic on drug policy) is perhaps the country where the political and public debate on MDMA regulation has made the most progress
8/
MDMA regulation has found support amongst mainstream political parties, & is policy of the Amsterdam municipal govt (tho it cant happen until national Govt comes on board).
Mainstream public debate has been informed by serious academic work - see:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33530825/
9/
As with cannabis in Wash/Col and Uruguay, coca in Bolivia, or coca/cocaine in Colombia - it only takes one jurisdiction to break-away from the fracturing global prohibitionist consensus for the debate on regulation to open up globally.
10/
I hope this shop gets media attention & accelerates the public debate in the Netherlands & beyond.
MDMA is here to stay - so we can learn from past failures and explore options for responsible regulation - or carry on making the same mistakes.
see transformdrugs.org/blog/mdma-hist…
11/
you know what to do
transformdrugs.org/blog/how-to-re…
12/12
& finally.....legal or illegal, educate yourself and your networks about how to stay safe if you are using MDMA.
@WeAreTheLoopUK
#harmreduction
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