Book Review: Cocaine Use in Amsterdam II: Initiation and Patterns of Use After 1986

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Between Prohibition and Legalization: The Dutch Experiment in Drug Policy, edited by Ed Leuw and I. Haen Marshall (New York: Kugler Publications, 1994), 335 pp., $47.50 (paper). A World of Opportunities: Lifestyle and Economic Behavior of Heroin Addicts in Amsterdam, by Martin Grapendaal, Ed Leuw, and Hans Nelen (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995), 240 pp., $16.95 (paper). Licit and Illicit Drug Use in Amsterdam II, by J.P. Sandwijk, P.D.A. Cohen, S. Musterd, and M.P.S. Langemeijer (Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 1995), 161 pp., Dfl. 35 (paper). Cocaine Use in Amsterdam II: Initiation and Patterns of Use After 1986, by Peter Cohen and Arjan Sas (Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 1995), 128 pp., Dfl. 35 (paper). There has never been a war on drugs in Holland. In compliance with international treaties, the Netherlands has enacted laws to prohibit the production, distribution and sale of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, and other psychoactive drugs. However, because the Dutch long ago concluded that government lacks the capacity to rid society of these substances, they have oriented drug policy toward a different goal: reducing the negative consequences of drugs for individual users and society. The four books reviewed here offer a spirited defense of this harm reduction model. And while the authors do not agree on the merits of every aspect of Holland's current policy, they are unanimous in opposing the highly punitive form of drug prohibition existing in the United States and most of Europe.' Indeed, these authors would like their writings to convince policy-makers in other countries that Holland's harm-reduction approach is a reasonable alternative to drug-war strategies. Between Prohibition and Legalization, edited by Ed Leuw and I. Haen Marshall, is a primer on Dutch drug policy. Included in the book are historical reviews, descriptions of current policy and its consequences, and data from social science studies that were designed explicitly to help Dutch policy-makers evaluate and modify existing practices. As is generally true of edited volumes, there is some repetition, and some chapters are better than others. However, as a whole the book is a treasure trove of information. It is also remarkably well written, given that English is not the first language of most of the authors. Part I of Between Prohibition and Legalization presents the pragmatic and philosophical underpinnings of Holland's approach to drugs. Especially good is the chapter by Ed Leuw, which examines the social and political forces that led Holland to reject the highly punitive policies adopted in many other countries in the 1970s and 1980s. Also noteworthy are Jos Silvis's review of the principles and practices of Dutch drug-law enforcement and Leon Wever's basic overview of Holland's health approach to social problems. Running throughout Part I-and indeed throughout the entire book-is the idea that public programs to help drug users live more normal lives are not only morally required but are of practical benefit to the broader society. The ethnographic studies of drug users and dealers reported in Part II make interesting reading, although only some have clear policy implications. The chapter by Frank van Gemert and Hans Verbraeck provides a history of retail drug markets in Amsterdam and describes how law-enforcement practices over time have changed the location and nature of dealing. Bert Bieleman and Jolt Bosma evaluate government efforts to reduce drug dealing and drug-related crime in the city of Rotterdam. Dirk Korf discusses the problems posed by the presence of foreign drug users in Holland. Each of these analyses reveals the limits of government intervention, but also its potential benefits-as long as expectations for what can be accomplished are kept fairly modest. Marshall and Marshall's chapter on drug prevention, in Part III, might have been included in this section. …