Within six years, the proportion of adults between 18 and 59 who have consumed at least once a year has increased from 0..6 percent (2015) to 1.6 percent (2021), as shown in the report published by the German Observation Center for Drug and Drug Addiction (DBDD) on Thursday.
Around 10 percent of consultations and treatments for illegal substances concern cocaine users, a slight increase, according to the observation center. The majority of those affected are men. The seizures of cocaine by police and customs have also reached a record high: in 2017, 8 tons of cocaine were seized in Germany, but in 2023, it was 43 tons.
“The numbers speak a very clear language: the situation is serious” said Burkhard Blienert, the government’s commissioner for drug and addiction issues. “Even in these uncertain times, when crises and wars are worrying many people, we must not push drug users and addicts further to the edge of society or make them invisible. Rather, the fight against the illegal drug trade must be more successful, with a clear focus on organized crime. It requires a joint effort from the federal government, states, municipalities, and health insurance providers for more prevention, better health protection, and more targeted counseling and therapy.”
Esther Neumeier, the head of the German Observation Center for Drug and Drug Addiction (DBDD), emphasized: “We need, in the future, not only long-term trends to assess the overall situation scientifically, but also faster ways to gain and pass on new information. This requires more and faster toxicological analysis data in cases of poisoning and deaths, as well as in the case of discovered substances.” Moreover, a closer network of all actors in the field of illegal substances is necessary – from law enforcement to the help system, to the users themselves, on a national and local level.