Overdose prevention in the Netherlands – A new project by Mainline

Mainline Foundation in the Netherlands started a project in January 2014 among hard-to-reach groups of people who use non-opioid substances. The main goal of the project is to prevent overdose. In the Netherlands and in Belgium there has been an increase of people who have grown dependent on GHB. This group is not reached by traditional harm reduction services, while they face considerable health risks. Their drug use is not visible in society since they use drugs at home and by themselves. What can be considered an overdose in this case is a grey area between briefly losing consciousness and death. In addition to developing an overdose prevention tool, Mainline uses the project to find creative ways to reach out to new groups of drug users with harm reduction services. The outcomes of the project can therefore be relevant in a broader European context and for people who use non-opioid substances such as Chrystal-Methaphetamine, Mephedrone or New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). The project consists of a study among GHB users, the broad dissemination of the research results, and debates on the way forward.

The Centre for Addiction Studies (CVO) is a partner in the project, along with a number of European organisations. The project is funded by the European Union and the Netherlands Foundation for Mental Health.

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