More than 20 percent of Germans have already consumed illegal substances. Why is this, and what are the dangers?

************************ Drugs have entered the mainstream. Surveys confirm that more than 20 percent of Germans have already consumed illegal substances. At the same time, the number of drug-related deaths is higher than ever. More than 2,200 people died in 2023 as a result of drug use, twelve percent more than the previous year.

In Northern Germany alone, 326 drug-related deaths were reported. Reporter Tobi Schlegl, himself a paramedic, speaks with those affected and doctors. He accompanies Hamburg customs officers on inspections and asks: Why is consumption increasing? What are the dangers? And what is the government doing to combat the illegal drug market?

Hamburg's drug scene reveals the misery of addiction.

For many Northern Germans, Hamburg's main train station is a symbol of the drug problem: Anyone getting off the train here sees people trapped in the misery of addiction. Tobi Schlegl accompanies a police patrol in the St. Georg district and meets paramedics who fight for lives in drug emergencies.

The synthetic opioid fentanyl is of particular concern to the emergency responders, as the substance is apparently being mixed with heroin with increasing frequency. Fentanyl is about 50 times stronger and significantly increases the risk of an overdose.

Are drugs simply part of the scene at parties and festivals?

But drug use isn't limited to socially disadvantaged areas: Illegal drugs have long since entered the mainstream. Schlegl visits a festival in northern Germany where drug use seems to be part of the experience for many attendees.

At the Fusion Festival, the University of Rostock offers drug checking, a test in which illegal substances are analyzed for their ingredients to raise awareness of the risks of drug use. In the lab, reporter Tobi Schlegl observes the analysis of ecstasy tablets and learns from emergency physician Gernot Rücker why he, of all people, is in favor of legalizing the drug.

The Cocaine Flood and Its Consequences

The cocaine trade has been booming for several years. Schlegl accompanies customs officials at the Port of Hamburg, one of the largest entry points for cocaine into Europe. The documentary shows how difficult it is to curb smuggling, even though seizures are constantly increasing.

Reporter Tobi Schlegl learns about the devastating effects of the drug in a conversation with Amelie (name changed by the editors). The 32-year-old sales representative had a stable life, then she became addicted to cocaine: "I was no longer really able to work and completely isolated myself socially. It was a complete derailment of my life." Only with therapeutic help was she able to escape her addiction.

HELP AND COUNSELING CENTERS

German Center for Addiction Issues (DHS)
https://www.dhs.de/suchthilfe/suchtbe... and https://www.dhs.de/service/suchthilfe...

Addiction & Drugs Hotline – Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA)
https://www.bzga.de/service/infotelef...

Emergency Service for People at Risk of or Suffering from Substance Use Disorder Berlin e.V.
https://drogennotdienst.de/

Counseling for Children of Parents with Addiction Issues – Nacoa e.V.
https://nacoa.de/projekte/beratungsan...

Federal Association of Parents' Groups for Sons & Daughters at Risk of or Suffering from Addiction
https://bvek.org/

German Red Cross
https://www.drk.de/hilfe-in-deutschla...

Diakonie Germany
https://www.diakonie.de/informieren/i...

Caritas Germany
https://www.caritas.de/glossare/sucht...