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Should MDMA Be Sold Over The Counter In Dispensaries?
A Dutch art installation is questioning what a legal drug market could look like
In July of 2022, Dutch harm reduction organization Mainliners opened a one of a kind pop up shop in Utrecht in partnership with Poppi Drug Museum, as part of a social experiment. De XTC Winkel, or The Ecstasy Shop, was designed to sell a single product, or at least the illusion of it.
Individuals can visit the art installation in order to get an idea of what it would be like to visit an actual MDMA dispensary in a world where the drug is legal and regulated. Visitors can even purchase fake placebo pills as part of the unique interactive experience.
Along with asking the public what a legal MDMA market should look like, the installation brings up questions about what type of setting the drug should be sold in, and with what kind of restrictions, if any.
For the entry price of 10 euros, you can tour the faux storefront and experience three separate potential sale models with various degrees of regulation in place: a minimally regulated nightclub setting where anybody can purchase the drug via vending machines, a smart shop with some harm reduction practices in place, or a more structured medical model staffed by pharmacists who evaluate customers…
