Justice minister: It’s too late to discuss legalizing hard drugs in the Netherlands

A debate over whether to legalize hard drugs in the Netherlands broke out between caretaker Justice and Security Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz and D66 MP Joost Sneller during a discusson on Thursday about her ministry’s budget. Yeşilgöz said it was far too late to legalize drugs, and said it was “naive” to think that a discussion about this can still be had in the Netherlands.

“Our rule of law is on the verge of collapse. If the men and women of the protective and security services had not been there, the rule of law would have collapsed already,” the minister said emotionally. She was referring to the intermingling of the criminal underworld and legitimate society, and the power that serious organized crime bosses command.

The security and protection service employees monitor and guard people who become the subjects of violent threats, such as politicians, judges and journalists. Yeşilgöz has had security guards by her side at all times for a long time, as has PVV leader Geert Wilders, among others.

“Our way of life is at stake. We have no time for discussions about legalizing hard drugs,” she said. She was referring to a recent international conference that Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema organized about alternative approaches to drug policy.

Halsema is in favor of decriminalizing cocaine, saying the recent violence linked to drug trafficking is the result of antiquated policies that have not proven successful. D66 wants Yeşilgöz to consider this more seriously as part of the Dutch strategy to win the war on drugs.

Yeşilgöz firmly rejected that suggestion. “Legalizing hard drugs makes no sense.” She questioned if Sneller “knows what’s going on here.” The D66 MP was not pleased with the minister’s ad hominem attack. He countered, saying that employing one strategy does not have to exclude another.

Yeşilgöz also pushed aside the criticism from GroenLinks-PvdA that the ministry’s desire to seize criminal assets could be more ambitious. According to MP Songül Mutluer (GL-PvdA), criminals active in the Netherlands earn 16 billion euros annually, while the ministry’s ambition is to take 200 million euros out of this.

The minister acknowledged that criminals are hardest hit “by taking their money,” but noted that most of the money leaves the country through systems of underground banking.

“My number one ambition is to destroy their networks,” Yeşilgöz said. Dutch authorities are working hard and effectively to this end, she claimed, but said this is not reflected in the amounts of money and assets taken from criminals.