Soft drugs meaning explored in the wake of Nicki Minaj's arrest in Amsterdam

On May 25, rapper, singer, and songwriter Nicki Minaj was briefly arrested by the Dutch National Police Agency after authorities reportedly found “soft drugs” in her luggage at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. According to CBS News, the news was first released by the Dutch police department or the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee’s official X page on Saturday night.

The translated post from Dutch to English reads as follows:

“We have just released a 41-year-old American woman who we arrested this afternoon at Schiphol on suspicion of exporting soft drugs. After consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect was fined and can continue her journey.”

While the post did not mention Nicki Minaj by name, the rapper later took to X to confirm the news and claimed, “They’re being paid big money to try to sabotage my tour b/c soooooo many ppl are mad that it’s this successful & they can’t eat off me.”

She also alleged that people were “caught stealing money from my travel/jets” for which they were reportedly “fired,” got “mad,” and retaliated.

Later, Minaj also took to her Instagram and posted a video, where she explained that airport officials allegedly found marijuana in her bags and wanted to weigh them.

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Understanding the meaning of soft drugs in the wake of Nicki Minaj’s Amsterdam arrest

According to the Gateway Foundation, soft drugs refer to the kind of drugs that are reportedly less harmful than hard drugs or drugs that are of toxic and addictive type. However, this categorization is not scientific, but based on public opinion and has no clear criteria or definition.

Soft drugs, such as marijuana are often thought to produce little to no permanent physical or psychological damage, which is not necessarily true. Regardless, in most places, they are legal to use or more “socially acceptable” than hard drugs such as cocaine.

Also known as gateway drugs, other examples of soft drugs include alcohol, nicotine, DMT, shrooms, and prescription opioids among others. While prescription opioids are chemically similar to hard drug heroin and are often used for substance abuse, they are categorized as painkillers and are hence regarded as soft drugs.

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Nicki Minaj denied the allegations of carrying soft drugs

On Saturday, Nicki Minaj was taken into Dutch police custody and later released after posting a fine on the charges of carrying "soft drugs," at the Amsterdam airport.

According to a video uploaded by the rapper on Instagram, an unidentified suited man told her that the police asked him to “offload all the luggage and to search everything off your luggage.”

When Nicki Minaj enquired why her luggage was not searched at the security checkpoint before it went on the airplane, the man explained that it was a “random quick check” before, but now they wanted to do a thorough inspection.

The man further informed the Super Freaky Girl hitmaker that the police wanted to weigh her luggage and see if she was carrying anything more than she said she was.

“They took my bags and put them on the plane before I could know what bags were put on the plane,” Minaj was heard telling the official, who apologized for all her trouble.

In the caption of her video post, Minaj wrote,

“They’ve been trying to stop me from coming to every show. They took my bags before I could see them. Put it on the plane. Now saying they’re waiting on customs.”

She also claimed that it was all a setup to “sabotage” her ongoing Pink Friday 2 World Tour, and everything that was done to her was “illegal” and people involved were “paid big money” to hassle her.

The 41-year-old Anaconda rapper later wrote on X how she spent “5-6 hours in jail” as she was suspected of exporting cannabis, which is illegal in the Netherlands but tolerated for recreational use.

As per Nicki Minaj’s social media statements, the authorities had no grounds to put her “under arrest” and escort her to the police station in a van, disregarding her request for a lawyer multiple times. She also denied the allegations that she was “carrying drugs.”

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Notably, Minaj performed in Amsterdam’s Ziggo’s Dome on May 23 and was on her way to Manchester, England, for another show on Saturday night, when she was arrested.

While her Manchester concert was postponed, Nicki Minaj later performed in Birmingham on Sunday, as per schedule. She apologized to her fans on social media and promised to reschedule the show in Manchester soon.