Description

The Report on the Drug Situation in the Netherlands 2008 has been written for the European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Each year, national
centres of expertise on drug-related issues in the member states of the European Union
(‘Focal Points’) draw up a report on their respective national drugs situation, according to
guidelines provided by the EMCDDA. These reports form the basis of the “Annual Report
on the State of the Drug Problem in the European Union” compiled by the EMCDDA. In
keeping with the guidelines, the report focuses on new developments in the reporting
year. In order to avoid too much overlap, the reader is repeatedly referred to previous
National Reports.
This 2008 national report was written by the staff of the Bureau of the Netherlands National
Drug Monitor (NDM) at the Trimbos Institute and staff of the Scientific Research
and Documentation Centre (WODC) of the Ministry of Justice. The NDM was established
in 1999 on the initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The Ministry of Justice
also participates in the NDM. The NDM carries out the functions of the Netherlands
Focal Point.
The NDM relies on the contribution of a multitude of experts and input from registration
systems and monitors in the Netherlands. In particular, the authors would like to thank
the members of the Scientific Committee of the NDM and other expert reviewers for their
valuable comments on the draft version of the report.