Poppi Drugs Museum Amsterdam wants to launch a mobile "XTC store"
Following a successful experiment in Utrecht, the Amsterdam drugs museum Poppi is considering launching a mobile "XTC store." Machteld Busz, the initiator, revealed in an interview with Het Parool on Monday that they are looking for creative talents to collaborate on the new design.
Poppi is an organization that aims to “retell the story about drugs via pop-ups and (online) experiences.” In 2022, they created an experimental educational exhibition in Utrecht that showcased an "XTC store" in Utrecht for two and a half months. This exhibition featured three interactive versions of a mock-up XTC sales point, offering a glimpse into the potential future of regulated XTC sales.
Busz remarked that the store facilitated insightful discussions around topics such as sales marketing and sales conditions. “The store produced a much more nuanced debate than proponents and opponents shouting at each other both on-site and in the media," she commented in Het Parool.
The ambition of the exhibition is not only to engage visitors but also to influence policymakers. Busz believes drug legalization could address challenges like drug-related violence and environmental harm. Notably, Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers visited the mock XTC store. His political party, D66, advocates for exploring the regulation of currently prohibited substances, including MDMA, cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, and LSD.
Given the significant attention the XTC store garnered, Poppi is now exploring ways to present a mobile version, the initiator told the newspaper. She explained that there is a surging demand for this exhibition from cities like Amsterdam, Ghent, and even Sydney. “With the xtc store 2.0 we want to be able to travel around," Busz explained.
To achieve this, the Poppi drugs museum opened a call for artists to propose designs for a mobile XTC store. “The store should be easily assembled and disassembled, and old materials from the first store may be used. Furthermore, we are very curious what people will come up with: projections, 3D printing molds, video images, or something completely different?" she told the newspaper.
Back in 2015, D66 youth wing launched a similar initiative by opening an ecstasy shop in Amsterdam to inform the public about the advantages of legalizing ecstasy. People behind the counter selling packages with little pills, actually colorful candy, gave out leaflets with information on usage, doses and side effects.
