Secretary of State Karremans: "We see that certain groups are increasingly using drugs, such as young people going out. Drugs are harmful to your health and cause problems in society. Therefore, we are launching a targeted public campaign. We want to make users aware of the harmful consequences of buying and using illegal drugs."

Minister van Weel: “Drug trafficking is the profit model of organized crime. The use of drugs sustains this criminal profit model. Drug criminals know no boundaries and pose a direct threat to our society, our rule of law, and our youth. We want to break this profit model. Therefore, we will take stricter action against (online) drug trafficking and help young people become more resilient against criminals.” 

Users seem to hardly realize that their use contributes to the damage that drug crime inflicts on society. Therefore, the ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and Justice and Security (JenV) are launching a targeted public campaign this year. This campaign makes the invisible costs of drug use visible and shows what it does to your health, the environment, and society.

Research from the Trimbos Institute shows that drugs are purchased through various online channels, including encrypted platforms such as Telegram. It also appears that social media plays a significant role in online sales. The cabinet wants to counter this online drug supply and is therefore focusing on increased enforcement. As announced on Prinsjesdag, additional funds are being invested in the detection of digitized crime. This will expand the capacity for digital detection and create more room for enforcement against online drug sales, so that criminals can be apprehended more quickly.

Criminals often exploit people in vulnerable positions, such as young people or those with debts. Young people are often recruited at a young age on the street or via social media to transport drugs. The program Prevention with Authority aims to increase the resilience of this group of young people. The goal of this program is to prevent young people from coming into contact with, sliding into, or progressing in crime. Young people gain perspective through education or a job. We set boundaries by correcting criminal behavior at an early stage with judicial partners, such as the police, Public Prosecution Service, and probation services, and further reducing the recruiting power of criminals over young people.

The program Resilient Communities against Undermining Crime will also be extended for four years. This project supports municipalities in raising awareness about undermining crime within communities. Here, municipalities and judicial partners have local control and determine what is needed in their context. By continuing this program, we ensure that communities become stronger against criminal influences.