Cologne in the drug alarm: Exciting more help for crack users!

Cologne in the drug alarm: Exciting more help for crack users!

Köln, Deutschland - In Cologne city center, the drug problem becomes increasingly pressing. Markus, a 40-year-old former homeless person, is alerted by the growing numbers of cracking consumers. Ten years ago he came to Cologne himself when he fought drug addiction and homelessness. Today, after he has offered alternative city tours from the perspective of a former for several years, he would like to draw attention to the challenges that affect many people in the city.

Markus recently launched a project with the Instagram channel "Koeln.trash", which documented the neglect in Cologne and has over 13,000 followers. Together they want to address the predicament in the city center. "People consume the drugs openly in the city, and that leaves dark traces," he describes. He calls on the city administration to create more alternating opportunities for consumers and proposes the development of a larger consumer space concept.

Cologne compared to other cities

dealing with drugs in Cologne seems to be very improvement compared to other cities. Despite its 25.6 full-time equivalent positions, the drug consumption room at Neumarkt is currently 4.1 vacancies. If you compare this with the offers in other cities, Cologne is doing badly: While Düsseldorf is 90 places, Dortmund has only 20 places available and only 15. According to Markus and other affected people, this could be due to the fact that Cologne decided in 2017 to set up further consumption rooms in Kalk and Mülheim, but not all have yet been realized. <

The Cologne Greens have now spoken out for a new facility to support crack users. Ralf Unna, the chairman of the Health Committee, supports the Zurich model, which also includes the toleration of drug small trading in consumption rooms. "An additional offer for crack users, which is open until late in the evening and includes social work offers, could help," says Unna. For this initiative, financing of more than one million euros per year is required, of which a six -figure sum is already planned in the Cologne budget.

a new approach from Zurich

The Zurich model is considered a model for dealing with drugs. Florian Meyer, head of the "Damage for illegal substances" department in Zurich, describes how the drug scene between public places has been shifted to controlled areas by setting up consumption rooms and the toleration of the small trade between consumers. This could also be a solution for Cologne, where the visibility of drug use through the inadequate offers increases.

The proposal of the Cologne Greens is not undisputed. Bernd Petelkau from the Cologne CDU supports the model, but demands a strict zero tolerance strategy against drug trafficking in public space. Different views collide here that could be significant for future drug policy in Cologne.

Markus, who still lives in the city, hopes that the cityscape can be improved through its tours and the planned initiatives. "I want fewer people to get dependent on this topic as a city," he summarizes, "summarizes and speaks to many of the soul who deal with the topic.