Thieves grab Rotterdam narcotic nickname street signs soon after anti-drug push starts

A series of new street signs that Rotterdam put up as part of anti-drug campaign are being stolen en masse, according to regional broadcaster Rijnmond. Drug-related names were given to 11 streets to try to convince people to avoid hard drugs, such as “Cokesingel” in place of the Coolsingel, and “MDMA-laan” instead of Emmalaan.

The Groene Hilledijk was also renamed the “Groene Pillendijk”, and “Wijnhaven” was assigned in place of Lijnhaven. But the new signs have proven to be popular among students, who now seem to have them hanging in their rooms, the broadcaster said.

The broadcaster spotted four people of about 20 years of age on Wednesday morning snickering under the sign, Nakstraat, while they were on the Rakstraat. The Dutch slang word, nakken, can refer to snorting a line of cocaine. The sign was gone by Wednesday afternoon.

It is not yet clear if the signs will be replaced. “We are not at all surprised that the signs were stolen so quickly. It was to be expected. We do ask the thieves in question to memorize the message behind the signs and to discuss it with each other,” a spokesperson for the city told the broadcaster.

An estimated 63,000 lines of coke, 2,500 ecstasy pills, and 11,000 portions of speed are used daily in Rotterdam. The city wants to make the users more conscious of the connection their usage has with the drug crime in the city.

In addition to posters, the municipality wants to use campaign slogans like "Haal jij je neus ervoor op?" which means "Do you turn your nose up at it" in English, and "Kijk verder dan je lijntje lang is," which means "Look beyond your line" in English. They hope that this will break the normalization of drug usage and open up a conversation about it.

"A pill or a line of coke on Saturday seems so innocent. We almost think it's normal," said Alderman for enforcement, outdoor space, and mobility Pascal Lansink-Bastemeijer. "But it isn't when you realize the severe impact drug trafficking has in our city, in our streets, and on our residents. With this campaign, we want to give users a wider view of their own reality: however innocent it is meant, users need to realize that drugs can have a dark side to it So that they no longer take that pill, but also the hard facts," he added.

"We hope to start the conversation and de-normalize drug use. So, don't turn your nose up at it, and think twice before you start."