Crack cocaine crisis: The deadly rise of cheap drugs in Germany

The drug, which is becoming an increasingly significant issue in Germany as well, looks relatively harmless, resembling light sugar crystals. This substance is referred to simply as "white" or "stones". When these evaporate at 90 degrees Celsius in a pipe, cracking sounds can be heard, hence the name: "crack". A mixture of cocaine, baking soda, and water, it starts to take effect in no more than ten seconds, faster than any other drug. It promises euphoria and is highly addictive. In cases of excessive consumption, it can lead directly to death.

"The first priority is to ensure people's survival because it is a hazardous situation. If you imagine that this substance can be taken in half-hour cycles, it leaves little time for recovery, practically no time for eating, hygiene, or wound care," says Michael Harbaum in an interview with DW. "Crack is ultimately cocaine that can be smoked and gives a high. When taken for many days, it often leads to psychotic states," he adds.

Harbaum has worked at the Drug Addiction Help Centre in Düsseldorf for 20 years. Initially, he was the manager of the drug consumption room and is now the director. The social educator has seen a lot on the streets of this city of 630,000 inhabitants. But what crack cocaine does to addicts is on another level. In 2017, his organisation counted only a few hundred so-called crack incidents in the Düsseldorf drug consumption room. Last year, however, there were more than 31,000.

"We are witnessing a sharp increase, and accordingly, the behaviour and impoverishment of the people who come to us is changing. Because crack delivers a powerful effect very quickly but also wears off quickly, the pressure to retake it is very high," says Michael Harbaum. "The pipe is often shared because there is simply not enough money. You buy a few stones for 5 pounds, and everyone can take a single puff," he explains.

In 2023, more than 2,200 people died in Germany as a result of drug use, the highest level in 20 years. Heroin and the long-term consequences of drug use are still the leading causes of death among addicts, but the number of cocaine and crack poisoning cases has also risen significantly. Addiction researcher Professor Daniel Deimel, who – along with other experts – developed recommendations for dealing with crack use, also expressed his concern.

"Crack has always been a problem in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Hanover for about 20 years. Since 2016, the drug has been spreading in western Germany and other major cities such as Berlin, but also in the Saarland region, because Europe, and therefore Germany, is being swamped with high-purity cocaine," says Deimel. "The drug market is expanding because cocaine production in Colombia has significantly increased. The drug market and producers have diversified."

In February, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser travelled to Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru to advocate for strengthened police cooperation in the fight against international drug trafficking. More and more cocaine is coming from South America to Europe through the ports in Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Hamburg.

However, Daniel Deimel has no illusions. The cocaine market in Germany exists, and production will continue on a large scale due to high demand.

"We live in a high-performance society. So many people now consume cocaine that it has led to a kind of normalisation. It is no longer the drug of the wealthy, affluent, artists, and media people, which was the stereotype in the 1980s and 90s," he assesses.

Cocaine consumed in the form of crack also reaches hotspots in major German cities. Last year, Deimel conducted research among drug users in Kiel. Almost all stated that they had smoked crack at some stage. Many of them are homeless. Psychological severe issues and even paranoia were often reported in connection with crack use. According to Deimel, the biggest problem is the lack of a substitute.

"In the case of heroin, very well-developed medical interventions already exist, such as methadone substitution treatment. However, in the case of crack, no drug is approved for the market and effective in dealing with this addiction. This means that we need more research in this area. And an emergency help centre is also open in the evenings, with 24/7 care," says the expert.

In Düsseldorf, Michael Harbaum and his team managed to place addicts in new apartments right by the central train station, with security staff, social workers, and lockable single rooms. According to experts, this is a model that should urgently be emulated, as alongside crack, other hazardous drugs are coming: synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

A painkiller for dying or cancer patients is mixed with heroin. In the USA, about 10,000 people die each year from opioid overdoses. In a test project conducted over six months in 17 German drug consumption rooms, the organisation Deutsche Aidshilfe was able to prove that 3.6% of the provided heroin samples contained trace amounts of fentanyl.

"We suspect that this number will rise in the next 12-18 months," fears Daniel Deimel. "Synthetic opioids will be introduced to the market and mixed with heroin. The problem is that these substances are then much stronger," says Deimel. In the case of fentanyl, a lethal dose is two milligrams, "as much as the tip of a pencil," he adds.

Last year in Dublin, there were 54 emergency cases related to the synthetic opioid nitazene. In Birmingham, 30 people died in the summer of 2023 from taking heroin-containing synthetic opioids. The German government was also warned in this regard.

In an interview with DW, German Commissioner for Addiction and Drugs Burkhard Blienert calls for an increase in low-threshold support services and actions that also reach people. "Apart from the drug consumption rooms, these include drug checks, quick tests in consumption rooms, low-threshold substitution support, and the use of the rescue drug naloxone, which even laypeople can and should administer," he says.

According to Blienert, enough effective measures have been tried and tested throughout Europe, but they are not yet applied everywhere. "Given the really dangerous spread of crack and synthetic opiates, we can no longer afford to debate whether to create drug consumption and control rooms," Blienert assesses.