Psychologist facing prison for supplying anti-vomit meds to people attempting suicide

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended a jail sentence of one year with six months of that conditionally suspended against 80-year-old psychologist Wim van Dijk for repeatedly violating the Medicines Act. The man from Den Bosch admitted that he helped many people obtain medication which they could use to end their lives. However, he is not being prosecuted for illegally assisting suicide, as police have not linked any deaths to the drugs he supplied.

The prosecutor pointed out in her explanation of the sentence demand that future deaths cannot be ruled out. "That is almost inevitable" due to the scale of the trade. Van Dijk confessed that he gave people packages containing the deadly Drug X, known also as Middel X, at their request and after speaking with them. He also gave them an antiemetic to prevent them from vomiting after ingesting Drug X.

He is only being prosecuted for trafficking the antiemetics thus far. "Van Dijk knew all too well that his activities were illegal," said the prosecutor. She pointed out that there is a reason that licenses are required. He did not have any.

The prosecutor explained that antiemetics play an essential role in the use of Drug X. It is often distributed as a combination of a medication supplied as a powder that will lead to an individual’s death if ingested, along with a second medication that acts as an antiemetic, preventing the body’s natural reflex to begin vomiting after the suicide attempt.

She called the suspect "unruly" and found it "inappropriate" that he suggested he had "only been slightly civilly disobedient." By supplying antiemetics to more than 200 people, he made a "significant contribution" to the chances of suicide attempts succeeding, the OM argued. The substance known as Drug X is used in the food industry and is not illegal. However, the OM argued it is unlawful to provide them to an individual who intends to kill themself. Prosecutors believe it also violates controlled substances laws to provide an antiemetic in this manner.

Defense attorney Jan Boksem thinks that his client deserves a "symbolic" conditionally suspended sentence at worst. "Since he is not on trial for assisted suicide or supplying Middel X, your court will have to ensure that he is not punished for that either," Boksem said.

He added that criminal law is "not intended to have a political discussion" about assistance with an individual's voluntary end-of-life. Boksem further argued that Van Dijk "wanted to prevent unnecessary suffering."

In his final words in the case, the suspect pleaded for "self-determination" regarding the death. "If politics does not listen to society, then resistance threatens," he said. "If I am punished, then so be it."

The court will announce its verdict on October 15.