"Drugs Paradise": The Dutch Stereotype That Interfered With Politics

The approach of the Netherlands to drugs led to the stereotype of the country being a (too) liberal one when it comes to the consumption and the trade of substances. The stereotype of a "drugs paradise", again, was seen as a problem by Dutch policy makers and made the Netherlands take more conciliatory positions in order to protect the national image. Dutch drug policy has been both "praised and glamorized for its tolerant and pragmatic approach - and condemned and demonized for the same reasons". 

European countries thought the Dutch approach would contribute to an increased availability of drugs in their countries. The stereotype of a "drugs paradise", however, was formed well before the policies were introduced and coffee shops were opened.

By March 1976, the German delegation framed the Netherlands as Germany’s most importantsupplier of heroin. Considerable amounts of the cannabis consumed in Germany were also comingfrom Dutch territory, they said in the PG. The Germans pushed the Dutch to increase their efforts infighting drug trafficking as a way of governing the problem. Similar pressure came from the Swedishdelegation, who pleaded for a higher Dutch police commitment. The publicity around drug debates inthe Dutch parliament coincided with reports over significant seizures of amphetamine and heroin inSweden. The liberal tone of the debates in the Dutch parliament annoyed Swedish authorities. At thesame time, the international image of the Netherlands as a drug supplier raised concerns among theDutch. The Netherlands were being framed as an enemy of the international regulatory machine, andthis could have undesirable consequences.

The stereotype of being too lenient and tolerant, a supplier nation, too soft on crime, and a transit country led to political pressure and influenced Dutch attitudes to drug policies; it became a problem for policy makers.

Throughout these developments, the Netherlands unsuccessfully fought its stereotypes of a “drugparadise” with an emphasis on its efforts to fight the drug trade. The oil boycott by the Arab nationspressed the Netherlands further into a compromise-seeking approach that pushed them from stoutlydefending their liberal cannabis policies to acquiring the highly needed support of neighboring coun-tries through a tough stance on hard drugs and the drug trade.

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- Rigoni, R. (2019). "Drugs Paradise": Dutch Stereotypes and Substance Regulation in European Collaborations on Drug Policies in the 1970s. Contemporary Drug Problems, 46(3), link
- photograph by Holger Rüdel (Amsterdam, 1970) via