The Dutch Cocaine Factory can be seen in the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem from Saturday 30 September. A musical spectacle that revolves around the legal trade in white gold during the First World War.
What many people do not know is that the legal coke trade took bizarre forms in this period 1914-1918.
The medicinal cocaine trafficking took away the pain and fear of death from the people who had to endure these tough times and generated a lot of money. Yet it was not all positive. It has had major consequences. Look at the brutal drug crime that is now holding our society hostage. An insight into the dark world of the coke industry and the development of hard drugs. From medicinal use to illegal trade in addictive substances.
The Dutch cocaine factory
The story, based on the book The Traveler of the Dutch Cocaine Factory by Conny Braam, is about Lucien, a dealer in medicinal cocaine during the First World War, from 1914 to 1918. “That factory really existed, it was not a secret but an ordinary a very legal company in Amsterdam,” says Michiel Schreuders, artistic director, composer/musician of Tafel van Vijf Muziektheater, the AD writes.
“This story exposes a system whose consequences we feel to this day. Namely: once a lot of money is made, the trade chain can hardly be stopped, even if there are major negative effects on the product and the system,” Schreuders explains to the newspaper.
War and coke
The terrible trench warfare was one of the toughest of all time. A time when soldiers had to endure inhumane hardships and millions died. Cocaine was a drug to numb pain and get boys out of the trenches. Traveling medicine salesman Lucien started importing and soon noticed that cocaine made a lot of money. It was golden business. No one was surprised or questioned it.
It shows that big decisions in the past still have major consequences in the future. There is often no way back. Certainly not if a lot of money is being made. The social effects are still significant. It resonates and resonates. Look at the war on drugs and organized crime, which is inextricably linked to the history of the trade in hard drugs.
Source: AD.nl (EN)
