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
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 in Berlin today for the German Govt cannabis legalisation consultation process expert hearings - opened this morning by the minister of health; making the pragmatic case for responsible legal regulation - and identifying the various public health challenges.... 1/
The minister explains why he changed his mind on regulation - acknowledging the failure of historic policy & how regulation offers better health & criminal justice outcomes; inc child protection, controls on marketing etc.
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The minister emphasises the need to learn from alcohol and tobacco, to have careful monitoring and evaluation that can inform evolving policy, and to prioritize public health and youth protection in policy design.
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It gets off to a spectacularly bad start with the preface.
In fact even the first four words.
This is old-school drug war rhetoric - perhaps the first time new @UNODC director @GhadaFathiWaly has had a chance to do some threat-based prohibitionist flexing. 2/
The preface, & entire booklet makes prominent calls for prevention (27mentions) & treatment (67 mentions).
But, amazingly given UNODCs very specific harm reduction mandate, the words 'harm reduction' do not appear ONCE in the entire part1 71p. summary booklet.
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Here is new Australian PM @AlboMP on drug law reform in 1999
"We are a society that is full of contradictions. Some drugs are legally sanctioned and others are outlawed. To say that the reason for this is to do with public health and safety is a nonsense."
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@AlboMP "The drugs responsible for the most deaths and diseases in this country are not heroin, cannabis, ecstasy or cocaine—they are alcohol and tobacco."
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@AlboMP "The deaths associated with heroin, for instance, arise not so much from the drug itself, as from overdoses caused by its uncertain purity and from dangerous substances used to dilute it. As well, there's the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C from the use of dirty needles."
3/
I've been asked how Malta's new law is different from Spain, the Netherlands & Portugal - and, in that context why people saying it is the first EU country to 'legalise' cannabis
So here's a THREAD to explain - with apologies in advance for length/dullness
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to explain the distinction you need to understand whats happened in the other countries:
Portugal changed its law in 2001 removing criminal sanctions for possession (of any drug), but it remains a civil offence, with various sanctions available....
small scale cannabis possession is usually dealt with by confiscation & no further action taken - but repeat 'offenders' (its still technically an offence) can be fined or referred to treatment.
There's no legal supply - so 'legalisation' is an often misused word.
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THREAD
Stopping the production of Afghan opium/heroin coming to the UK was one of the key justifications given by Tony Blair 20yrs ago for supporting the coalition military intervention in Afghanistan post 9/11
Aside from any other outcomes, hows that worked out?
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From Blair's speech:
"We act also because the al-Qaida network & the Taliban regime are funded in large part on the drugs trade. 90% of all heroin sold in Britain originates from Afghanistan. Stopping that trade is, again, directly in our interests"
In the 20yrs that followed some £37billion was spent & over 400 British soldiers have killed - a significant but unspecified proportion of this financial & human cost was related anti-drug operations (UK led the presence in Helmland - one of the key opium production regions) 3/