I amsterdam - Drugs

3 Types of Addicts
The addicts responsible for causing nuisance and committing crime can be roughly divided into the following categories:

• Addicted habitual offenders 
• Problematic chronic addicts 
• ‘New’ users

Prevention
Young people like to experiment with new experiences, and drugs are no exception. Credible information that does not exaggerate the facts and the risks can paint a very realistic picture of what drugs can do. The information stresses the significance of certain behavioural skills. Information is often provided at large-scale dance and house parties and on the regular pub and disco circuit.

Methods for tackling the problem
The following methods are used to combat nuisance resulting from drug use:

• Special drugs nuisance zones. A number of drugs nuisance zones have been pinpointed in Amsterdam. People causing nuisance can be banned from these areas for periods of eight hours up to fourteen days.
• The closure of establishments that are open to the public. Dealing in hard drugs in pubs & clubs or other establishments open to the public is prohibited. Should this occur, the Mayor can decide to close down the establishment on the grounds of the Opium Act. 
• Boarding up houses on account of nuisance from drug users. Since 1999, the Municipalities Act has empowered the Mayor to combat nuisance as a result of drug use by having houses boarded up. He may decide to take this action if a house is being used as a base for dealing drugs, for instance.

The Mayor of Amsterdam, the city’s police and it’s Public Prosecutions Service also want to establish a dividing line between the trade in hard and soft drugs by carrying out strict controls on the coffee shops.

Prosecution
Roughly speaking, the authorities have three ways of dealing with hard drug addicts. The Public Prosecutor or the courts can impose a penalty or offer a rehabilitation programme. Another procedure has recently been introduced – the Criminal Care for Addicts programme (Strafrechtelijke Opvang Verslaafden). There are currently 72 places available in the Bijlmerbajes complex. The programme prepares addicts for their return to society, helping them to avoid falling back into old criminal ways and resuming their hard drug habit.

Care and After-care
Approximately 1,500 chronic hard drugs users give cause for extreme concern. This group includes people who are not only chronic addicts but who are also homeless and/or suffering from psychiatric problems. In 2000, a project entitled ‘Support in Amsterdam’ was launched to provide help for this group by offering them a package comprising five components: shelter, income, access to care, daytime activities and safe drugs use.