Dirk De fauw, mayor of Bruges: “It is actually mainly the new types of drugs that we discover. More chemical drugs that are also on the rise in Bruges. We should not be shy about that. It is not because this is becoming more popular in other cities, it is also present in Bruges and we must absolutely prevent this from becoming common here.”
Drug use is increasing
Drug use in Bruges is increasing. Analysis of the wastewater even shows that ketamine use is higher there than in Ghent or Leuven. And the city wants to do something about this with a new plan. Iris Maertens, drug policy coordinator in Bruges: “That means that we have to be very strict with the people who do not have good intentions for our city: the criminal organizations, the rogue companies. We want to keep them out, we have to be really strict about that. But for the people who have a use and want to recover from it or are in recovery from it, we must facilitate them as much as possible, and we must not make it even more difficult for them than it already is to recover from their addiction.”
Alcohol and gambling
And the city can also contribute to this. The new plan also addresses alcohol and gambling. “What I think is very important is that we take on our exemplary role, and that not every place, event, always has to deal with alcohol. A campaign we launched last year was: ‘Is it always time for alcohol?’. And that was, for example, about youth sports competitions, about residential care centers. Should there always be alcohol involved? I think that is very important. And that is also important for the people we heard: Can we go somewhere where we are not always tempted by those products?”
The new plan contains 59 action points that the city will develop over the next 5 years in collaboration with the police and other partners.
