Recreational drug tourism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"In Francis Alys‘ 1996 piece “Narcotourism,” he ingested one different drug each day over a period of seven days, walked around the city of Copenhagen, and recorded notes about his experience. For “speed” Alys writes, “I fear the signs of my own presence, and avoid encounters on the street. As I walk, I always keep a familiar spot in sight.” For “ecstasy” he writes, “My shoes move and I feel the urge to walk out. Everything I turn to moves, not physically but conceptually.”"[1] |
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Drug tourism is travel for the purpose of obtaining or using drugs for personal use that are unavailable or illegal in one's home jurisdiction. Drug tourism can be also defined as the phenomenon by which one's travel experience involves the consumption and usage of drugs that are considered to be illegal or illegitimate in either the visited destination or the tourist’s country of origin. This would include crossing a national border to obtain drugs over the counter that are not sold in one's own country, or traveling to another country in order to obtain or use narcotics that are illegal in one's own country, or even traveling from one province/county/state to another in order to buy alcohol or tobacco more easily. Drug tourism to other countries is also popular among college students in the United States younger than 21 who are not yet of the legal drinking age for alcohol purchasing and consumption. Empirical studies show that drug tourism is heterogeneous and might involve either the pursuit of mere pleasure and escapism or a quest for profound and meaningful experiences through the consumption of drugs.
Drug tourism has many legal implications, and persons engaging in it sometimes risk prosecution for drug smuggling or other drug-related charges in their home jurisdictions or in the jurisdictions they are visiting, especially if they bring their purchases home rather than using them abroad. The act of traveling for the purpose of buying or using drugs is itself a criminal offense in some jurisdictions.
In Europe, the Netherlands, and especially the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, is a popular destination for drug tourists, due to the liberal attitude of the Dutch toward cannabis use and possession. Another Dutch city which was visited frequently by drug tourists is Maastricht because of its position close to the borders of Germany and Belgium but sale to tourists is now prohibited there by restricting sales of cannabis to members and restricted to Dutch residents over 18 years of age by way of a membership card. Drug tourism thrives because legislation controlling the sale, possession, and use of drugs varies dramatically from one jurisdiction to another. In recent years drugs tourism is increasingly clamped down on in the Netherlands. In May 2011 the Dutch government announced that tourists are to be banned from Dutch coffee shops, starting in the southern provinces at the end of 2011, and the rest of the country by 2012.
In Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia have a more liberal approach to marijuana use, promoting interstate drug tourism, particularly from Victoria and New South Wales. In addition, some areas of northern New South Wales have a liberal recreational drug culture, particularly areas around Nimbin where the annual MardiGrass festival is held. Other popular destinations include Malana, India where famous Indian hashish is produced, and the Rif Mountains in Morocco where hashish is produced. In South America, some tourists are attracted to Amazonian villages to try a local liquid called ayahuasca which is a mixture of psychedelic plants that is used in traditional ceremonies. Similarly, tourists in Peru try hallucinogenic cactus called San Pedro which originally has been used by local tribes.
See also
- Drug policy of the Netherlands
- Recreational drug use
- Route 36 (bar), the world's first cocaine bar
