Netherlands – Illegal Synthetic Drug Economy Tops $25 Billion

One of the biggest domestic pop hits in the Netherlands of the past few years was a song called ‘Drank en Drugs’ (Booze and Drugs) by the band ‘Ronnie Flex & Lil Kleine’ which stated that ‘if you want to chill, there is no problem because I have booze and drugs.’

It was so successful for a country of 17 million citizens that they also did a German version called ‘Shnapps und Stoff’ which also became a hit.

Youtube later recognized the song promoted a drugs culture and now makes you sign in if you still want to see the video. You can still see the lyrics one or the German version though. An English translation can be found <a href="https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Lil-Kleine-feat-Ronnie-Flex-2/Stoff-und-Schnaps-2/translation/english"> here</a>.

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The text, which also explains how teenagers know everything there is to know about drugs explains how Holland thinks about illegal substances in a nutshell. Having taken drug usage of marijuana out of its legislation a long time ago, Amsterdam became a drugs mecca for tourists, and of course, the illegal circuit, which produces ‘XTC’ and ‘Speed’ flourished.

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It has now reached a point where an investigation by the Dutch media revealed that the (relatively small) country has become the world’s largest producer of illegal synthetic drugs. The title in ‘De Volkskrant’ (The People’s Newspaper) reads ‘614 million grams and speed and 972 million XTC pills crowns Holland World Champion Synthetic Drugs’.

The drugs economy in Holland which has by now created a shadow economy worth $25 billion is roughly the size of its biggest supermarket chain called ‘Albert Heijn’ or the turnover of Air-France KLM (the airlines of France and The Netherlands have merged).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="nl" dir="ltr">- <a href="https://t.co/uViktvgdqa">https://t.co/uViktvgdqa</a> Nederland <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/narcostaat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#narcostaat</a>. Alles valt en staat met daadkrachtige politici. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tweedekamer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tweedekamer</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/buitenhof?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#buitenhof</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/eenvandaag?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#eenvandaag</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nieuwsuur?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nieuwsuur</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/laatop1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#laatop1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nosjournaal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nosjournaal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/justitie?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#justitie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/politie?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#politie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rutte3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rutte3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/volkskrant?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#volkskrant</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nrc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nrc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/telegraaf?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#telegraaf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NOS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NOS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/parool?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#parool</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dvhn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dvhn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/drugs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#drugs</a></p>&mdash; Grote Kapsalon (@Grote_Kapsalon) <a href="https://twitter.com/Grote_Kapsalon/status/1033323160136048640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Because of Holland’s prime location as Europe’s centre, combined with the knowledge that criminals dealing drugs go mostly unpunished as the political culture is such that it is seen as a minor offence has made it the logistical centre of the world for synthetic drug production. Holland has become so good at doing this that it can now produce an XTC-pill for about 25 cents and sell it for 27 dollars in Australia two days later. Most of the drugs destined for the US and Australia are shipped through the harbour of Rotterdam, most of the drugs destined for Europe and Asia travel over land.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="nl" dir="ltr">614 miljoen gram speed en 972 miljoen xtc-pillen: Nederland is wereldkampioen synthetische drugs <a href="https://t.co/ALiv4XR4jd">https://t.co/ALiv4XR4jd</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/volkskrant?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@volkskrant</a></p>&mdash; Alex Gijsbers (@Politie_OVDAG) <a href="https://twitter.com/Politie_OVDAG/status/1033311008876621826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Dutch politicians are aware of the problem and the views abroad of what Holland is slowly becoming. The liberal administration of Prime Minister Mark Rutte has therefore decided that as from 2019 they will set aside some 10 million Euro to fight the illegal trade.

Given the current yearly turnover of roughly €20 billion for the criminal trade, the amount is considered laughable by Amsterdam’s police force.

Source:

https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/614-miljoen-gram-speed-en-972-miljoen-xtc-pillen-nederland-is-wereldkampioen-synthetische-drugs~b3571ce7/