Why are you sending this text message?
Your phone number appears in the phone and contact list of a possible drug dealer. As the police, we point out the negative health risks of drug use and the societal consequences of drug use, production, and trade on our livability, safety, and the environment. Because what may just be part of a fun party for one, causes a lot of misery for another.
Drug trafficking and drug production are almost always associated with organized crime, with all the consequences that entails. Unfortunately, those consequences are felt everywhere in our country. The government is working to combat the production and trade of drugs. But a painful fact is that a large part of this societal problem begins with the consumer: the drug user. The demand for drugs keeps this world alive.
What are examples of the negative consequences you are talking about?
The trade in drugs is accompanied by extreme violence (such as kidnappings, liquidations, and explosions), environmental damage (such as burned-out buildings and drug dumping in our waters and nature), human trafficking, labor exploitation, money laundering, tax evasion, and undermining our rule of law (such as threatened judges, officials, and extorted civil servants). Unfortunately, all these examples are part of everyday life, anywhere in the Netherlands. Drug trafficking negatively impacts the health and livability of all Dutch people, and the societal consequences of drugs (use) are incalculable. Is it worth it?
What is the government doing against this crime?
The government wants to combat the production and trade of drugs. For example, by stopping the supply of raw materials. The police dismantle dozens of drug laboratories every year where hard drugs are produced. Sometimes this happens in the middle of nature. Other times they are discovered right in a residential area, in homes that are also being withdrawn from the regular housing market. Additionally, those homes have an attracting effect on criminals and their often ruthless methods. This negatively affects the livability of the neighborhood.
Do these problems also apply to soft drugs, such as cannabis?
Dont be mistaken: illegal hemp cultivation can also cause nuisance from users, criminals, and their competitors in residential areas. Think of fire hazards, water damage, odors, and damage to homes, which are usually located in the midst of residential neighborhoods. It is the neighborhoods where people live, work, and thrive. The government, including the police, tackles hemp cultivation and other drug trade by dismantling drug laboratories and hemp farms, making arrests, confiscating criminal (drug trade earnings) assets, and terminating rental contracts of homes.
Where can I learn more about the negative environmental impacts?
The production of drugs generates a lot of waste. This waste is increasingly being dumped in residential areas. Dumping of drug waste is dangerous because the substances present can be flammable, corrosive, or toxic. These substances can also end up in groundwater. Furthermore, drug waste is increasingly being discharged directly into rivers or sewage. Forest rangers find drug waste hundreds of times a year in protected nature areas. So too does Ranger Erik. In this video, he talks about it.
What do we notice about drug waste in relation to our drinking water?
Drug waste from drug laboratories often ends up in nature. The substances can also reach groundwater. Additionally, drug waste is increasingly being discharged directly into rivers or sewage. The dumping and disposal of drug waste can also cause problems at water treatment plants. Thus, the drinking water supply can potentially be endangered. Read more about this on the website of the RIVM and the Drinkwater platform.
Where can I go for help, for example for a drug addiction?
Do you need immediate medical assistance? Then call 112. In the field of drug use and drug addiction, there are various experts and government agencies. Help for addiction can take many forms, such as online help programs, social work, specialized addiction care, and self-help groups. You can go to many different agencies. Below – but also on a thematic page about drugs from the government - you can read more about what types of help are available and where you can find that help, even anonymously:
• www.thuisarts.nl/drugs
• www.jellinek.nl
• www.trimbos.nl
• www.ggzinterventie.nl
• www.drugsinfo.nl
• www.tactus.nl
• Cannabis the Boss
• www.cannabisenik.nl
• www.terwille.nl
Addresses of addiction care institutions can be found at www.zorgkaartnederland.nl. Is there a (long) waiting time at your preferred clinic? Your health insurers care mediator can check if you can get in somewhere faster.
What can I do right now?
Are you in a crisis situation? Or is someone in your environment at risk of a crisis and you want to help? Check www.jellinek.nl/crisis for what you can best do. Help for addiction comes in many different forms. There are three different forms of help: self-help, contact with others, and professional help. You can choose between these three forms, but a combination can also work well.
Can I also go there just to gather information?
Many agencies and institutions provide information and give tips and prevention advice, including through information sessions, individual conversations, or training. Jellinek can answer any questions about risky substance use. It doesn’t matter who you are or how old you are. Check www.jellinek.nl or call the Jellinek Advice Line for free telephone advice: 088- 5051220.
How can I talk to others about drug use?
Educate yourself about the effects of drug use; in the Netherlands, but also worldwide. What world lies behind that one pill? On the website of the Trimbos Institute called www.drugsinfo.nl, you will find tips on how to discuss drug use with others.
I never order drugs and dont use them either. How come I still received this text message?
The chance that this happens, we as police have tried to minimize in several ways. If it has nevertheless happened? Then we hope that you still support our message and understand our approach, precisely because of the negative and harmful effects of drugs on people and the environment.
Should I be worried that my number is now known to the police?
The police do not conduct criminal investigations into the contact persons or possible drug transactions. The detected contacts and the associated phone numbers have been deleted after the text message was sent.