I'm getting the train to Utrecht in the Netherlands on Thursday for the opening of the world's first MDMA shop.
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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
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
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.
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
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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).
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.
I'm at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna this week - attempting to live tweet the small part of the chaos I'm able to participate in...... 1/
It's only 9.45 and a lot has already happened including the fascinating @TransformDrugs side event
I'll do updates later - and try and tie up some threads from previous days in the coming hours... 2/
@TransformDrugs Now I'm in the informal dialogue with Jalal Toufiq, president of the International Drug Control Board INCB - the body that monitors compliance with the UN drug treaties - here's their website; 3/ incb.org
Will explain more in a bit - but first here's @volker_turk from @UNHumanRights - speaking about last year's groundbreaking report on drugs and human rights....it's a bug moment 2/
@volker_turk @UNHumanRights You can read the report here - and I'd encourage you to.
Its a pretty brutal critique of the human rights abuses perpetrated around the world in the name of the war on drugs - and makes a series of recommendations on how to address them 3/
Frustrating news from Thailand; it looks like their nascent non-medical cannabis legalisation reforms are being effectively reversed
Its a confusing situation, compounded by a messy initial reform process
Ill try & unpick, as far as I can understand...
HT @AnnFordham
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A key prob was the initial reforms, which removed cannabis from the Thai Narcotics Act - nominally to facilitate a mkt & access to cannabis for medical use
But in the absence of a formal regulatory framework, non medical canna-preneurs took advantage of the legal grey area
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Retail cannabis outlets rapidly proliferated - even though technically not permitted, there was little pushback from Govt authorities - leading to a high visibility, chaotic, & almost entirely unregulated retail scene that inevitably provoked a public & political backlash 3/
I'm at the UN Commission on Drugs in Vienna this week.
It's a familiar rollercoaster of bureaucratic weirdness - but with huge relevance to reform debates around the world.
I'll tweet updates - with apologies in advance for randomness - on this thread....
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Apologies for radio silence - I've been preparing for this livestreamed dialogue which kicks off in about 30 mins - will pick up on tweeting proceedings after lunch 2/
15 new synthetic opioids made Class A drugs "as the Govt continues to act to prevent drug deaths"
Given the history of other class A's, it's delusional to imagine more prohibitions can meaningfully address the drug death crisis 1/ gov.uk/government/new…
Here's graphs of the England & Wales' cocaine & heroin related deaths going back to 1993 (methodological challenges with drug death stats notwithstanding)
Both were class A for this entire period.
Note the distinct upticks in both graphs around 2011 2/
Supply side enforcement *creates* economic incentives for organised crime entrepreneurs to bring more potent (easier to transport) & profitable synthetic drugs to market
Why import 50kg of heroin, when 1kg of super potent fentanyl/nitazenes generates the same money?
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I'm sorry its taken ages, but we wanted to get it right, & have a had loads of input from experts across the globe making sure we do. It contains the carefully researched pragmatic policy recommendations followers of Transform's work will find reassuringly familiar, but..
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I hope people will be interested to dive into to some of the fascinating discussions specific to psychedelics that we've also explored including - psychedelic exceptionalism, harm reduction, indigenous rights, environmental issues, equity & social justice, & international law
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