In 1980, a group of heroin users in Rotterdam founded the »Junkie-Union,« a protest organization against police raids and the overemphasis on abstinence-oriented therapies in addiction treatment. Along with Protestant Paulus Church, the union opened an experimental site, the Perron Nul (Platform Zero), which offered a space where users could access methadone maintenance, clean needles, and basic care (toilets, showers, coffee, etc.). This controversial facility ran for nearly a decade before being shut down (1987-1994).

This lecture examines archival material from the Rotterdam Junkie Union to analyze the rise and fall of Perron Nul as an arena for contestation about the »Junkie’s« marginalized citizenship.

Public Lecture and Discussion

Dr. Gemma Block, Open University, Heerlen Netherlands
Friday, July 12th, 2019, 7pm
Aquarium (Südblock),
Skalitzer Str. 6, Berlin (U Kottbusser Tor)