Drug use in Dutch neighbourhoods a ‘growing nuisance’

Some 490,000 Dutch residents said that they experienced nuisance related to drug use in their neighbourhood last year, up from 440,000 in 2021, a new report from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has found.

Major cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, along with large municipalities in the southern and eastern regions of the Netherlands, are particularly affected, with residents in highly urbanised areas most frequently reporting nuisance from drug use and drug dealing.

Between 2021 and 2023, nuisance from drug use increased in these highly urbanised areas, while less urbanised municipalities saw no significant change in nuisance levels.

Reporting nusiance drug use

In 2023, 3.3% of the Dutch population experienced nuisance from drug use, up from 3.0% in 2021, the data showed.

In highly urbanised areas, this increased from 5.4% to 6.1%, while and in strongly urban areas, it rose from 3.5% to 3.7 %. In moderately urban, little urban, and non urban areas, the figures remained stable at 1.6%, 1.3%, and 0.8%, respectively.

Large municipalities

In the 55 large municipalities in the Netherlands with populations over 70,000, an average of 5% of residents report significant nuisance from drug use and a similar number from drug dealing.

Roosendaal stands out, with 10% reporting nuisance from drug use and 12% from drug trafficking. Other municipalities in North Brabant, such as Helmond and Tilburg, and municipalities in Limburg and South Holland, such as Rotterdam and Schiedam, also report high levels of nuisance.

In Amsterdam and The Hague, nuisance from drug use exceeds that from drug dealing, Statistics Netherlands said. In other large municipalities, the levels of nuisance from drug use and dealing are similar, within the study’s reliability margins.

For example, in 2023, Amsterdam reported 7.1% for drug use and 5.6% for drug dealing, Rotterdam reported 9.3% and 8.9%, The Hague reported 8.0% and 6.0%, and Roosendaal reported 9.7% and 12.2%. In Tilburg, the percentages were 7.2% for drug use and 6.6% for drug dealing.