Drug deaths
March 28, 2012
The number of drug-related deaths in Germany dropped sharply last year, with 986 people dying from an overdose of illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, cannabis or hashish.
"Compared to 2010, this represents a decrease of 20 percent," said Mechthild Dyckmans, a member of the Free Democrats (FDP) and a federal drug commissioner, in Berlin on Monday. “We saw the lowest level [of deaths] since 1988.”
In 2010, 1,237 people died of drug overdoses in Germany, the main cause of death being attributed to heroin. However, the number of people who died after consuming multiple drugs rose considerably in the past year, according to the Dyckmans.
Fewer deaths, more first-time users
For Dyckmans, the decreasing number of drug-related deaths is proof that prevention programs at the federal and state levels are making an impact. She says methadone treatments, controlled drug consumption rooms and hygienic syringe programs have proven successful.
"The results confirm that users of illicit drugs with state support are getting older, but at the same time, heroin use in the younger age groups is less and less common," she said.
Jörg Ziercke, president of the Federal Criminal Office (BKA), warned against becoming complacent based on the success of prevention efforts, pointing out that the growing number of first-time users was especially worrisome. In 2011, the number of cases of first-time users of hard drugs reported to the authorities rose by almost 15 percent.
"The number of first-time users of amphetamines and methamphetamines rose for the eighth consecutive year," said Ziercke. Included in the category amphetamines and methamphetamines are synthetically produced drugs and designer drugs.
Ziercke, however, was able to report some successes. Authorities were able to confiscate more synthetic drugs in the past year than ever before. In more than 11,000 individual cases across Germany, a total of 1.4 tons of amphetamines and methamphetamines was seized, an increase of 17 percent.
The BKA sees the party drug "Crystal" as a particular problem. Forty kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were seized last year, a jump of 50 percent. The number of first-time users of the drug, 2,112 cases in 2011, skyrocketed by 164 percent. And, while the authorities were able to confiscate a greater number of ecstasy pills, the amount of cannabis, cocaine and heroin seized sank.
Cutting supplies to Aghan drug labs
Most of the heroin sold on the streets of Europe and Germany originated in Afghanistan, warns the Federal Crime Office.
"The heroin manufacturered from Afghanistan's production alone, currently about 600 to 650 tons, is more than enough to satisfy the world market," says BKA President Ziercke.
According to the latest United Nations statistics, between 12 and 14 million people consume heroin, with the annual amount used being around 375 tons.
The UN figures, published in January, underscore the sad role played by Afghanistan in global drug production. The study indicates that the total area in Afghanistan planted with opium poppies grew by seven percent in 2011 to more than 130,000 hectares (325,000 acres). Experts estimate that the amount of raw opium harvested last year was somewhere in the vicinity of 5,800 metric tons.
In the battle against international drug smuggling, the BKA focuses on rooting out and destroying the supply chain.
"If we do not intervene in the production or planting process, then we at least have to intervene in the refining process," stresses Ziercke.
This means the BKA can interfere with the transport of essential chemicals for synthetic drug production in Afghan laboratories together with neighboring countries and do more traffic monitoring, notes Ziercke.
"If, without chemicals, there can be no heroin, then we have to stop the chemicals from getting into Afghanistan for heroin production," he said.
The BKA has already signed deals with Germany's chemical industry to do just that. In a diplomatic initiative, Ziercke wants to extend this effort to other countries. One of the first has been Peru, where an agreement between local authorites and the BKA was signed to jointly investigate the South American region's cocaine cartels.
Author:Richard Fuchs / cmk
Editor: Gregg Benzow