Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2001
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2001 The Miami Herald
Contact:  http://www.herald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post Service

NETHERLANDS TAKES TOLERANT STANCE ON POPULAR, ILLEGAL DRUG

At a crowded party at the edge of this city's red-light district, the theme 
one recent night was 1980s retro, the music was blaring and much of the 
crowd was in an Ecstasy-energized frenzy.

"Is this a great party or what?" said a sweaty young American, pushing his 
way to the bar for three glasses of tap water for himself and two friends. 
When people are on the drug that's often called just "e," they feel elated 
and packed with pep. Often they dance so hard that consuming lots of water 
is essential to prevent serious dehydration.

Drug enforcement officials, lawmakers and healthcare experts in the United 
States are sounding a new nationwide alarm about Ecstasy, also known as "x" 
or "happy pills," calling it the newest and fastest-growing drug in the 
illegal marketplace.

But here in the Netherlands, where an estimated 80 percent of the world's 
Ecstasy is manufactured, people and government alike treat its use as a 
fact of the cultural landscape. "It's everywhere," said Monique, 30, a 
waitress who began using it a decade ago. "I come from a really small 
village, and it was there," she said, asking that her full name not be 
used. "At house parties, it's still around, definitely." For years, Holland 
has taken what may be the industrial world's most tolerant approach to drug 
use. Amsterdam is dotted with "smoking shops," establishments where people 
can buy small amounts of marijuana and hashish without fear of prosecution. 
Officials have extended this tolerance to Ecstasy, and take what they call 
a pragmatic view that, whether society likes it or not, a certain number of 
people are going to use the drug, so the risks should be minimized. Here, 
partygoers can take their Ecstasy pills to a drug treatment center to have 
them tested and analyzed. The pill is then handed back. If the technicians 
cannot immediately determine the content of a pill, they offer to send it 
to a laboratory for further tests. That's not a problem for most users, 
because they tend to buy their pills in batches of five or six.

Upon completion of the test, "we give them a card telling them what they 
can expect if they take this pill," said Harold Wychgel, a Health Ministry 
spokesman. The pill-testing program serves another purpose, he said: It 
gives the government accurate and up-to-date data on what pills are on the 
market and how prevalent the use is, as well as a profile of the users.

The government has also issued a white paper laying out rules for the 
underground parties, or "raves," where Ecstasy use is prevalent. For 
example, party sites must be well ventilated and there must be plenty of 
free water available, to prevent e-users from becoming dehydrated through 
all-night dancing. There must also be a "chill-out" room, a cool and quiet 
place where "ravers" can sit peacefully to calm down.

Officials also say their strategy of tolerating use should not be 
interpreted by their American counterparts as tolerating trafficking and 
manufacturing. Ecstasy remains illegal in Holland and is classified as a 
hard drug, like heroin and cocaine. Authorities make war on production 
sites. In the past year they have dismantled 35, said Peter Reijnders, who 
heads the Synthetic Drugs Unit, a multiagency group created in 1997 that 
includes customs agents, police, tax enforcers and public prosecutors.

"The Netherlands is a main producer of Ecstasy," Reijnders said. "But the 
Netherlands is not the only producing country. We see more and more 
production coming up in other Western countries, Belgium and Greece, and 
also in Eastern Europe. . . . That is why it is important to put emphasis 
on international cooperation."
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