Upon Mayor Femke Halsema’s initiative, the Dealing with Drugs conference was held earlier this year to discuss not whether but how drugs like cocaine could be legalized. MDHG member Jessica was one of the speakers, passionately advocating for legal base-cocaine provision for older users. Spuit 11 published her story.

Good afternoon everyone, my name is Jessica. There are a few things I want to say about the war on drugs. I was 15 years old when I became addicted to cocaine. By the time I was 16 – in 1983 – I was on the streets of Amsterdam, my birthplace, having run away from home with my dog.

The people I met were in their twenties or thirties. In 1987, for the eighth time, I quit drugs, praying to God for strength. The people I knew were still on the streets when I began a new life. Although I did begin using cocaine again, as a medicine for my severe ADHD.

Last summer, I met my old friends again in a park in Amsterdam. Now in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and one even nearing ninety. The oldest told me that most of our group had died in 2009. He had been to too many funerals, he said. Those still alive are now a group of vulnerable elderly people, some of whom are disabled. Most of them have a house, some are in a nursing home and have a social benefit.

Due to the high prices for what they see as their medicine, namely cocaine, almost everyone is facing financial problems. Chasing drugs and obtaining money for drugs has become very difficult for them over the past twenty years. The scene has changed, many of their friends have died, and… they are growing old and want to withdraw from all this.

But instead… They told me they have been approached by young criminals – aged between 18 and 30 years old – to sell their passports and social security numbers. Some were literally forced to do so and to open Bitcoin bank accounts. Young criminals, sometimes violent and armed, are oppressing the elderly, drug users. They are easy prey because they are desperate to find their medicines, which they need for their daily functioning.

All kinds of dangerous situations can arise, such as registering cars (vehicles) in their name or renting a room for marijuana plantations. Usually, these people lose their homes and become homeless. It’s TIME to stop judging and humiliating people who need their medicines in the form of drugs to function well. And the TIME to stop is now.

Take the short story of a friend of mine, named Mona. She suffered from severe depression all her life and tried every existing antidepressant to find relief. When she was 72, she became acquainted with base-cocaine. That helped! She even smiled again and made jokes. Unfortunately, at the age of 75, she fell into the hands of the Bitcoin Boys. And after losing everything she had, she couldn’t afford the medicine anymore. She panicked. And ended her life.

These situations can be stopped NOW by giving these people their medication (cocaine). Give them a clean slate to walk in Freedom. Far away from the Devil’s playground. So they also have TIME for self-reflection, as they are out of the oppressed and bound situation. This will diminish the power that the underworld is gaining. AND THE TIME IS ALWAYS NOW! Thank you for your attention.

By: Jessica