magazine for drug users and anyone involved with drugs and drug policy
Spuit 11 English Translations
Magazine of the Belangenvereniging Druggebruikers MDHG
ARTICLES SPUIT 11 SUMMER '24
“Listen more to users”
"When creating drug policy, the voice of drug users should be listened to more," said Gemma Blok, professor of the history of mental health and culture, at the National Drug Congress 2024. “Previously, the Netherlands had a pioneering role, but we are now being...
Principle agreement about drugs
Before the elections, Geert Wilders of the PVV pointed out “the enormous danger of undermining by organized crime." According to Pieter Omtzigt's NSC, this undermining is increasingly directly noticeable in neighborhoods and districts: "bomb attacks on homes,...
Life and death
After my first week at the MDHG, I had already accumulated more so-called 'office stories' than in many other jobs combined. After all, street life is full of life, and if 'remarkable' wasn't such a dull description, I would say it's filled with remarkable characters....
Beauty for Ashes
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...
Older users require new rules
The success of medical heroin provision is no longer up for debate. Since its introduction in 2007, the provision has been so successful that participants are aging much more than anticipated, a development which nobody had prepared for. While other geriatric patients...
“Real tolerance would come from within”
Arjan Nuijten earned a doctorate on the history of the Dutch drug policy Arjan Nuijten recently earned his doctorate on the history of Dutch drug policy, with a focus on Amsterdam, Arnhem, and Heerlen. Nuijten argues that drug policy essentially originated locally and...
Waiting for a waitlist support worker
The story of Rudy“Just drop by, I'm almost always here,” I hear Margot* saying. Margot is a coordinator at the relatively new “waiting list support” team at HVO-Querido. It took me over six months of calling and waiting for this appointment. Although, appointment... I...
“I hope the Straatalliantie remains a pain in the ass”
After years of battling for additional resources, the Straatalliantie (Street Alliance) was recently able to launch as an independent organization, with a full team now operating in an extensively renovated and expanded Daklozenkantoor (Homeless Office). To mark this...
Skaeve Huse
In 2007, five living containers were placed in a remote location in the Houthavens. These were called “Skaeve huse”, inspired by the Danish concept “Skæve huse til skæve existense”: peculiar houses for people with peculiar lives. According to implementers and...
Dutch Candy
With Dutch Candy, Adam Fierman and photographer Peter Andrew Lusztyk created a beautiful coffee table book featuring photos of 42 different ecstasy pills. The American expat Fierman, residing in the Netherlands, became fascinated by the logos on the pills, as well as...
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