Impoverishment

Major German cities are sinking into the crack swamp

What's going on with our German neighbors?

(Bild: fuss stock.adobe)

In recent years, the drug crack has apparently spread massively in major German cities. The supply is huge, one expert is upset - and speaks of a veritable "cocaine glut".

"You could say that crack cocaine has arrived in almost every major city in Germany. And that is very worrying," warns Heino Stöver from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. Until a few years ago, there was actually only a scene in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Hanover. That was locally limited.

"But for the past seven or eight years, we've noticed that crack cocaine use has made inroads in many other cities, albeit with varying degrees of intensity," analyzes the professor of social science addiction research - be it in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Bremen, Berlin or Munich. This is also noticeable in the appearance of the cities: "Open scenes with major signs of impoverishment are forming again. This can no longer be overlooked in many places." For example, crack cocaine is the dominant drug in Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel district.

The drug crack

• It is a mixture of boiled cocaine that can be smoked
• Extremely fast stimulating effect
• Particularly dangerous due to the high risk of addiction

"We are experiencing a cocaine glut"
 The fact that crack is so widespread is also due to the huge supply. "We are experiencing a cocaine glut," says the expert. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, around 43 tons of cocaine were seized last year, more than twice as much as in the previous year.

"It's a potentiation of cocaine intoxication. The drug has enormous addictive potential - and that's what makes it so dangerous," explains Stöver. In his opinion, drug consumption rooms need to be set up in more cities. "The scene needs to be rethought and support services need to be created." The most important thing is to make contact with people.