Crack alarm: major German cities in the stranglehold of the horror drug!

Crack alarm: major German cities in the stranglehold of the horror drug!

Germany is grappling with a worrying rise in the use of crack, a dangerous drug that has become significantly more widespread in major cities in recent months. According to the “Reitox report” by the German Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (DBDD), which is prepared for the Ministry of Health under Karl Lauterbach, there was a worrying record of 2,227 drug-related deaths in 2023. The substance most affected is heroin, but crack is increasingly becoming a serious problem, as oe24 reported. The report highlights that there is an increase in crack use in the western and northern states as well as in large cities such as Berlin and Düsseldorf.

Alarming statistics and trends

The drug help center in North Rhine-Westphalia reports that the consumption of crack and its variant, freebase, has increased dramatically in recent years. In the drug consumption room in Düsseldorf, a central point for users, the number of consumption events rose from a few hundred in 2016 to almost 32,000 in 2023. These frightening figures show that crack does not only exist in certain scenes, but has now reached a wide audience. According to ntv, official bodies confirm that the problem can no longer be ignored and that the tendency to increase consumption is constantly increasing in major western German cities.

Crack, which is derived from cocaine and occurs in a smokable form, works within a few seconds and triggers a strong psychological dependence. Experts warn of the dramatic health risks, as the drug significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The devastating effects are becoming visible: addiction and misery characterize the city center, where users like 20-year-old Hulio consume excessively until the drug claims her life, as n-tv reports. The price of around 6 euros per pipe bowl makes crack affordable for many people and contributes to more and more people falling into the abyss.

Health authorities are under immense pressure to find appropriate solutions. Dealing with the increasing number of drug addicts requires emergency shelter and selective measures, but addiction remains a challenge that is not easy to overcome. The debate about prevention, education and control is becoming more intense as more and more people like Hulio suffer the consequences of their addiction.