‘We the Avant-Garde’. A History from Below of Dutch Heroin Use in the 1970s
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10312Keywords:
Medical history, Netherlands, Drugs, 20th century, Nederlandse geschiedenis, Nederland, BelgiëAbstract
In the 1970s the Netherlands (like many other western countries) was shocked by a sudden wave of heroin use. The heroin ‘epidemic’ is currently framed as a public health problem that has been solved in a commendably humane fashion. In the mean time heroin users have gained a ‘loser image’. Using memoirs written by and interviews with former heroin users, this article argues that heroin use was initially linked to cultural rebellion, self-development and social criticism. We need to take this forgotten aspect of the history of the Dutch heroin ‘epidemic’ into account when we try to explain this historical phenomenon.
This article is part of the special issue 'Blurring Boundaries: Towards a Medical History of the Twentieth Century'.
‘Wij de avant-garde’. Een history from below van heroïnegebruik in Nederland in de jaren zeventig
In de jaren zeventig van de vorige eeuw werd Nederland (net als veel andere westerse landen) opgeschrikt door een plotselinge golf van heroïnegebruik. Deze ‘heroïne-epidemie’ wordt momenteel beschouwd als volksgezondheidsprobleem dat succesvol is bedwongen, op een bewonderenswaardig humane wijze. Ondertussen hebben heroïnegebruikers een ‘loser’ imago gekregen. Op basis van memoires geschreven door en interviews met voormalige heroïnegebruikers, betoogt dit artikel dat het gebruik van heroïne oorspronkelijk verbonden was met culturele rebellie, zelfontplooiing en cultuurkritiek. Dit vergeten aspect van de ‘epidemie’ is onderdeel van de verklaring voor de populariteit van opiaten destijds.
Dit artikel maakt deel uit van het themanummer 'Blurring Boundaries: Towards a Medical History of the Twentieth Century'.
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