Mainline International

24/12/2025

Mainline wishes everyone happy holidays and a happy new year! We want to give a big thank to everyone who supported us, followed us, and shared their thoughts with us this year. 🎄✨

18/12/2025

We are happy to announce that our Drug Decriminalisation e-course is now back online. This course is designed for anyone who is interested in expanding their knowledge on what drug decriminalisation is, how to advocate for this approach, and how to design a decriminalisation model that helps people who use drugs. And the best part is, it is available for free online, meaning you can do it whenever and wherever you want. So what are you waiting for? Sign up now at https://mainline.nl/en/projects/drug-decriminalisation-ecourse/

Want to expand your knowledge even more? Check out our Harm Reduction School for more free online courses: https://mainline.nl/en/harm-reduction-school/

Mainline helped to develop an e-learning about decriminalisation. This free online course equips you to advocate for decrim of drug use.

10/12/2025

Today, 10 December, is Human Rights Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year's theme is 'Our Everyday Essentials', which aims to remind us how human rights shape our daily lives, often in ways that go unnoticed or in ways we take for granted. We hope to use this day to continue affirming the basic human rights of people who use drugs and to reflect on the importance of fighting the criminalisation of drug use not just for people who use drugs, but for everyone.

Want to know more? Click on: https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day

Human Rights Day commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

04/12/2025

Do you happen to speak Finnish fluently? Anna Abbing, who works in Finland on harm reduction and has Dutch roots, visited Mainline's office to learn about the Dutch approach. You can find her report here:
https://hppry.fi/blog/2025/11/29/opintomatka-hollannissa-olisiko-suomenkin-varauduttava-nitatseeneihin-ja-fentanyyliin/

See also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19cg6Cu9b8/

Jäsenemme Anna Abbing kävi tutustumassa päihdetyöhön Alankomaissa. Blogikirjoituksessaan hän kertoo havainnoistaan ja pohtii, mitä huumepolitiikassa meitä huomattavasti edellä olevan maan huumetyöstä voisi oppia. Puoliksi hollantilaisena päihdetyöntekijänä olen pohtinut paljon millais...

27/11/2025

Next week, on December 1st, it is World AIDS Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness and fighting back against HIV/AIDS. It is an opportunity for us to commemorate those who have lost their lives due to AIDS and to continue advocating for better treatment and prevention services for people living with HIV. Drug users are particularly at high risk of HIV infection. According to a 2020 study by the Aidsfonds, people who inject drugs are 22 times more likely to get an HIV injection than people who do not.

Want to learn more? Or want to see how you can make a difference? Check out: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-aids-day/2025

20/11/2025

Next week, November 25, is the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. Today until December 10th – International Human Rights Day – marks 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence.

We hope to encourage organisations to pay more attention to the urgency of ending violence against women who use drugs; and to orient drug policies towards human rights.

Want to know more? Click here: https://whrin.site/event/evawud-2025-campaign-toolkit/

November 25 is the international day for elimination of violence against women which marks the beginning of 16 days of action through to December 10, International Human Rights Day.  WHRIN encourage interested organisations and groups worldwide to organise actions to end violence against women and ...

06/11/2025

In de tv series "Tygo in de flakka", you meet peopel who use flakka problematically. What exactly is it? Mainline recently conducted a Quick Scan into ‘flakka’: the street name for cathinones such as alpha-PVP and alpha-PHP. We spoke to users and professionals to understand the impact of alpha use on users, access to harm reduction, and the impact of banning various variants of alpha.

Want to learn more about alpha and the effects of the ban amongst users? Check out:
https://mainline.nl/en/report-alpha-quick-scan-a-search-for-flakka/

In recent months, Mainline conducted a Quick Scan into ‘flakka’: the street name for cathinones such as alpha-PVP, alpha-PiHP and alpha-PHP. The Quick Scan is a search for the causes behind a local health crisis and significant social unrest around flakka. With this report, Mainline hopes to con...

30/10/2025

Crack co***ne is now the most popular drug amongst people with problematic drug use.

That's what Mainline and the Trimbos-instituut have discovered in their new research on opiod and crack use in the Netherlands. Trimbos did a statistical analysis, while Mainline's outreach workers interviewed 520 users from eight different Dutch cities. We discovered that crack has overtaken opiods as the most popular drug amongst people with problematic drug use.

Read the full report here: https://mainline.nl/en/mainline-reports/

a collection of Mainline publications

23/10/2025

Was everything better before?

This autumn, Mainline turns 35 years old! To celebrate, we decided to revisit the very first issue of our magazine. On the cover of that very first edition one headline jumped straight out: ‘Dope quality. Was it always better before?’

So we asked the experts at the Drugs Information and Monitoring System (DIMS) from the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands, who have been testing drugs ever since 1992. Mainline is one of the 33 places in the Netherlands where you can have the quality of your drugs tested. We can now even collect samples during our fieldwork and send them straight to the lab.

Was everything better before? Check out this infographic below:

16/10/2025

To what extent have local actors had an effect on Dutch harm reduction policy? This is the question that Arjan Nuijten from the University of Amsterdam examined in his PhD dissertation, ‘Regulating Paradise: The Local Origins of Harm Reduction in the Netherlands’.

Nuijten looked into the history of he**in and cannabis policy in the Netherlands from a local perspective. He shows how drug policies developed in three different Dutch cities: Amsterdam, Arnhem and Heerlen.

Nuijten demonstrates the important role of local actors in Dutch harm reduction and importantly, how the tolerant and liberal image of Dutch drug policy has changed. Drug policy doesn't come frompurely from tolerance, but rather as adaptation. Want to learn more about the history of drug policy in the Netherlands? Read more about this fascinating research here:
https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=db830f24-7f96-4388-994c-937f2c88624d

09/10/2025

Inspecting your base pipe regularly is so important: base pipes are often used intensively and many marginalised people who use crack, or basecoke as it is often called in the Netherlands, are at risk of developing the lung disease COPD. That’s why Mainline has created Baselab, a basecoke clinic developed by outreach worker Has Cornelissen, in which users can have their base pipes inspected. While doing so, they also receive tried and tested harm reduction tips.

Want a full breakdown of everything we check? Or do you want to start a base lab in your own area? Check out: https://mainline.nl/en/mainlines-newest-offer-the-base-laboratory/

Base pipes are often used intensively. So, it is important to have them inspected regularly. Mainline has therefore developed Baselab. During Baselab, we check the user’s base pipe and provide tried and tested tips for harm reduction. Many marginalised people who use crack (usually referred to as ...

02/10/2025

How do you support marginalised young people in reducing their risks to HIV infection? After a previous successful collaboration, Mainline is excited to announce another three-
year project with The Free School of Harm Reduction in Recife, Brazil! This project aims to increase access to and uptake of HIV and STI testing and treatment services among marginalised young people living in Recife, particularly those who are living on the streets, those who are part of the LBGTIQ+ community, and those who use drugs.

Want to learn more about how to increase young people’s resilience to HIV risk? Check out: https://mainline.nl/en/renewed-collaboration-with-free-school-of-harm-reduction-in-recife-brazil/

The Free School of Harm Reduction (Escola Livre de Redução de Danos – ELRD) and Mainline have started a new three-year project in Recife, Brazil. The goal of the project is to further increase demand for, access to and uptake of HIV and STI prevention, testing and treatment services. The project...