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Governing the Narcotic City

The Narcotic
City Archive

preserving the history of public drug cultures in Europe
Governing the Narcotic City

Preserve
History

Governing the Narcotic City is building the first open-access archive of public drug cultures in Europe. The Narcotic City Archive collects and preserves the material and immaterial heritage of narcotic use and governance in post-war European cities.
The Narcotic City Archive collects different objects of public drug culture

The Archive covers a vast array of material, including historic documents, oral histories, mappings, interviews, photos, and objects, and is available to everyone. It aims to become an innovative resource, fostering knowledge, dialogue, visibility, and engagement between researchers, activists, users, and a wider public.

Cutting across different spaces and legal regimes, intentions and actors, this open-access digital archive is envisioned to unsettle taken-for-granted assumptions about how narcotics, space, cities, activism, and governance are intertwined.

To expand the participatory archive, we are collaborating with nine nonprofit organizations across Europe. These associations have been working for decades in the fields of drug activism, policy debate, and living history. Their expertise will form the foundation of the Narcotic City Archive. We also welcome your contributions!

Interested in contributing something yourself?

If you would like to contribute to our public archive, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. It’s open for each and everyone!