Drug checking in Leipzig for the time being: Ministry of Social Affairs rejects pilot project

Drug checking in Leipzig for the time being: Ministry of Social Affairs rejects pilot project

Since June 2023, federal states have been able to offer so-called drug checking offers through a permit procedure. In Berlin and Thuringia there are already free consulting stations where drugs are checked for their ingredients. Leipzig also had plans to start a similar pilot project. However, the Saxon Ministry of Social Affairs rejected the project because the risks are assessed higher than the opportunities.

The Ministry of Social Affairs announced that Drug-Checking can be an offer of damage minimization by avoiding poisoning due to contamination or unusually high active ingredients. However, the current risks are higher than the chances. A drug test suggests security for consumers, who cannot exist. There is no controlled quality assurance in the production of illegal drugs, so the composition of a drug from the same source could differ greatly.

The addiction officer of the city of Leipzig, Sylke Lein, sees no increased consumption through drug checking. On the contrary, when consumers find that a drug is very high, they either do not consume or less consumed. The left-wing city councilor Juliane Nagel believes that the prohibition logic does not cause people to leave the hands of dangerous drugs. The drug checking could at least achieve the analysis of what exactly is consumed.

A current incident shows that the topic of drug prevention is still explosive: A 17-year-old from Plauen has probably died of an overdose of drugs that suspects that an ecstasy tablet has led to her death.

The nationwide introduction of drug checking continues to be discussed and the opinions about it. In other cities such as Zurich and Vienna, there are already drug reviews that some are regarded by some as an important instrument for minimizing damage. In Germany, however, the development has not yet been completed and it remains to be seen whether and in what form Drug checking will be introduced in the future.

more on the subject of

This topic in the program: MDR Saxony | The Sachsenspiegel | July 12, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.