Talk on legality at the PRAXISdiy info event

when it comes to the legality of buying and distributing hormones, the whole situation gets a bit mirky. people inexpierenced with more clandestine activism and mutual aid often have this notion that illegality is synonymous with impossibility. because if something is illegal the cops will always know and you WILL get in trouble for it. this notion among other things is something we'll get to soon enough, because as some of you might have guessed; the state is not as good at catching silly little hormone slingers as you might think. lets put a pin in that.

lets get to the biggest question of all, is DIYing HRT illegal or not? in short, its not. even testosterone which is a controlled substance unlike estrogen is not illegal to use without a prescription.  The diy hrt market is often called the gray market because unlike for example the silk road, youre not buying substances which are explicitly illegal. Youre buying substances which arent illegal in and of themselves but are criminalised due to the circumstances in which they are used and distributed. note that i said criminalised not illegal. If you buy from sellers within the European Economic Area then for now you should be safe, your package will arrive without anyone being the wiser or even caring. Outside of this area, like Otokonoko Pharmacy or american sellers, your package might get intercepted, this only means that your package is disposed of, not that you will face any repression for it.

where the situation becomes even more mirky is the mutual aid aspect of it. You an individual are allowed to buy and use both estrogen and testosterone of the internet, the seller and distributor however, are very much not allowed to do what theyre doing under the dutch geneesmiddelenwet. Now if you become the distributor, the question of illegality comes into play.

Here comes that notion of the omnipresent state again. As many people who have shoplifted, spraypainted or commited any other number of minor infractions can attest; the state and the police are a paper tiger. The goal of this system is repression, the systemic punitive consequences of going against the grain. The state and police only exist to instill the fear of getting caught, the idea of the omnipresent state is the cop in your head stopping you from insurrectionary activitiy. Trans mutual aid, the actions we are forced to undertake as a consequence of systemic injustice, is an insurrectionary activity in and of itself, the question of illegality does not even matter anymore. Prescribed estrogen is illegal in the eyes of a cop who is out to fuck with you and supplying the entirety of the trans community with hrt is legal in the blinded eyes of a state that only pretends to see everything. Luckily for us, the statist paper tiger is just that, its a cardboard cutout of a police officer in your head, not a real one. If you shut up about what youre doing, keep it on the down low, and stay vigilant you can do anything, regardless of legality.

03/08/2024

Kat(erina) Romeownov