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And the production of these drugs is still illegal, which has led to a big increase in (the wealth of) organised crime, similar to how the Maffia was spawned du
by kaon123 3y ago
And the production of these drugs is still illegal, which has led to a big increase in (the wealth of) organised crime, similar to how the Maffia was spawned during the prohibition.
I am not joking. In the Netherlands a druglord has ordered the assassination of one of its most famous journalists, and has blackmailed one of the most renowned lawyers to break the law. The netherlands exports $20bn (!!!) worth of MDMA and XTC per year. Where do you think these criminal instutions come from?
- sidewndr46 3y agoI'm familiar with the meaning of MDMA, but is XTC some new street name for "ecstasy"
- johnnyjeans 3y agonot new at all
- whimsicalism 3y agoMaybe not new, but not very common in the US. And further confusing given that MDMA & XTC are synonyms then.
- mason55 3y agoThe term "XTC" was a lot more common in the 90s rave scene. As far as being synonyms, people generally differentiate between "ecstasy"/"E" as MDMA in pill form and "molly" as MDMA in powder form.
- whimsicalism 3y agoFascinating, I just call it all molly. But maybe that's because I grew up in a time where you can send stuff to a lab to confirm what it is.
- m4jor 3y agomolly is pure MDMA XTC aka ecstacy is MDMA + additives like speed or caffeine/whatever.
- madhato 3y agoI've always heard that MDMA refers to pure MDMA, while E refers to MDMA that has been cut with something. Must be a colloquial thing.
- lwn 3y agoEcstasy is usually shortened as "XTC", "E" or "X"
- whimsicalism 3y agoYes, Europe is well-known for its intense organized crime. I doubt cannabis legalization would have much impact on this - the big organized crime control things like the cocaine & opioid trade. Looking up the assassination you mentioned, it looks like it was perpetuated by cocaine-dealing organized crime. Also, what is XTC?
- alephnerd 3y agoEcstasy. It's a party drug that's extremely popular in the rave scene.
- whimsicalism 3y agoBut that's the same as MDMA?
- fathyb 3y agoMDMA is the chemical name, like ethanol is the chemical name for alcoholic beverages.
- whimsicalism 3y agoSeems like an imperfect analogy because straight MDMA would be called ecstacy whereas straight ethanol would not be called beer or wine. My understanding had always been the two were synonymous.
- beardedetim 3y agoIn my party days,I always understood MDMAas being pure MDMA while X was MDMA mixed with coke, meth, or heroin to make the drug effects last longer, as the half life of MDMA is smaller than those other three.
- chimeracoder 3y ago
- tokai 3y agoThe model the Netherlands use is a bad choice. They didn't legalize but decriminalized use.
- simonswords82 3y agoBut I thought Portugal did the same (decriminalise) and by all accounts they've had fantastic results?
- tokai 3y agoAs I understand it they had fantastic results for the health and life outcomes for addicts. Never heard anything about it bringing change to the actual drug market and criminal groups.
- jonathankoren 3y agoI'd be curious to hear about Portugal's experience since it's been 20+ years since mass decriminalization. Whatever novelty effect is long past, and we now have a generation that grew up with the liberal policies. My quick search found articles written right after saying everything was going great, and obvious propaganda say that Portugal was nothing but a heroin den with everyone strung out everywhere.
- monksy 3y agoNetherlands there are legitmate places to buy weed. Portugal, dealers will hassle you on the street (probably with fake stuff)
- johnnyjeans 3y agoMost things aren't decriminalized, just psychedelic truffles (which are legal) and cannabis. Official policy is to tolerate everything, unless someone is being a nuisance. The Netherlands is an interesting case. Despite amphetamine, MDMA, etc. being illegal, The Hague has turned a blind eye to massive industrial production farms in the south. At one point, the Netherlands almost held a monopoly on the world's MDMA production. Rumors of conspiracy suggest it's intentional, but the end result is the same. Many of these drugs are de facto legal, if not de jure. Of course, this was the landscape some decades ago. It's been changing. Mexican cartels are starting to elbow in, and it's been causing "problems". Watching how the government reacts to the evolving ecosystem is going to be intriguing.