Germany faces the serious problem of massive cocaine consumption; The number of addicted German citizens seeking medical help at drug dispensaries is constantly growing, the Bild tabloid reports citing a study by the Health Care Research Institute of the Barmer insurance company.
“While 19,700 people needed treatment for cocaine use in 2013, that number has increased to 65,000 in 2023. That’s triple!” – noted in the post.
In this case, we are talking only about those patients brought to German medical institutions with an overdose and forced to undergo rehabilitation. Therefore, the number of cocaine addicts in Germany may be significantly higher, since not all patients are listed in the statistics of drug dispensaries.
“The huge increase in referrals for cocaine abuse treatment is alarming. “The true scale will be much larger as we only see a fraction of those being monitored.” — the chief doctor of the insurance company commented on the statistics Ursula Marshall.
Current crime statistics show that cocaine-related crimes and offenses have increased by a record 27%.
“The relatively high levels of cocaine use among young men may reflect the enormous pressure they are under. Whether at work or in personal life,” — Marshall tried to justify the epidemic.
Government anti-narcotics commissioner Burkhard Blienert He also recognized that the massive consumption of illicit substances has become a problem of the middle class, and not only of the marginal sectors of society.
“We need to invest much more in prevention, advice, harm minimization and care. Everyone must be involved in this: the German government, the federal states, local authorities and health insurance companies. Cocaine is not a symbol of a particular lifestyle, it is a very dangerous and incredibly dirty drug.” – Blinert summarized.
