The Dutch are ahead of the game when it comes to drugs and drug safety. However, they might be moving too quickly as a new organization is moving forward with opening the world’s first ecstasy shop in Amsterdam.
On May 18th, this upcoming Monday, the largest political youth organization in the Netherlands will open shop to the general public, reports Decoded Magazine. The organization represents the youth members of the larger Liberal Democrats (D66) party in the Dutch parliament.
The point they are trying to make is that “regulation is better than leaving the distribution to illegal street dealers.” With the market flooded with bunk ecstasy and no regulatory process to ensure you are actually getting what you’re looking for, the new shop will bring a new system to ensure proper harm reduction. However, to keep within the confines of the current law, they will be handing out placebos*. 
Most ecstasy-related deaths in the United States are a result of drugs laced with other compounds, not just pure MDMA.
The shop will only be open for one day and is part of a broader campaign to pressure parliament into reforming the current laws. The citizen initiative, MDMJA, will need 40,000 signatures to require an official response from the government.
According to Decoded Magazine:
“A recent study has shown that over half a million Dutch inhabitants have tried ecstasy at least once in their life.”
You can read the full story HERE.
You can visit MDMJA’s official website here: mdmja.nl
* Article updated on 5/17/2015 to explain that all pills distributed will be placebos.
