30 years of drug use in Frankfurt: success or failed path?

30 years of drug use in Frankfurt: success or failed path?

In Frankfurt am Main, the drug consumption room has been seen as an important instrument in the fight against the drug crisis for 30 years. But while the managing director of integrative drug help, Gabi Becker, speaks of a success story, there is a sharp contradiction in public perception. The responsible department of Elke Voitl (Greens) acknowledges that the offer needs fresh adjustments because the drug scene has now changed drastically.

The first drug consumption room in Frankfurt, “Eastside”, started operating in an industrial area in Fechenheim in December 1994. Since then, three others have been added in the area of the main station. The largest among them is located on Niddastraße, where the integrative drug help recorded a total of 60,000 supervised “consumption processes” last year. Thousands of used syringes could also be exchanged for freshness.

change in the drug scene

The effects of drug use are obvious. The number of drug deaths in Frankfurt fell from 147 in 1991 to only 20 in 2022. This is contrary to other regions of Germany, where the numbers continue to rise. Nationwide, the drug deaths rose from 944 to 2,227 in 2012. Professor Heino Stöver from Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences emphasizes that consumer spaces serve to minimize health risks and to shift consumption from public space.

However, observations show that the current drug situation in Frankfurt is more complicated than it seems at first glance. The dominant drug use has changed; Instead of heroin, it is now substances such as cracks that are already consumed on the street. Voitl is aware of this and sees one of the greatest challenges in the handling of crack consumption. The designs of these rooms must be redesigned to achieve a fallow clientele.

Many addicts are not only addicted, they are also increasingly afraid to consume in closed rooms. This requires a rethinking in the conceptualization of such rooms, and Voitl suggests that fewer places for injection and instead have to be created more to smoke crack. In addition, the city plans a property for an integrated drug and addiction aid center that is supposed to offer an outdoor area for consumption.

criticism and skepticism

The owner initiative Bahnhofsviertel shows little hope of successful implementation of these plans. According to spokesman Ralph Haerth, consumer spaces are not able to effectively reach the crack-consumers. He criticizes the city to act as a magnetic attraction for drug addicts, which makes it difficult to search for apartments in the Bahnhofsviertel and put the property owners under pressure.

The drug help in Frankfurt extends across Hesse and beyond, and without noticeable support from other cities or federal states. Voitl demands more government commitment because many Hessian municipalities do not offer the necessary support. Only 44 percent of the four Frankfurt consumption rooms have their place of residence in Frankfurt, many come from adjacent cities and municipalities.

In other cities such as Marburg, there are considerations to set up a consumer space, but so far these have only remained at the concept level. The resistance, also from other participants in local politics, ensures that concrete plans do not come about. In Darmstadt, too, it is currently being examined professionally whether a drug consumption space would make sense, while in Kassel no specific measure to create such rooms is previously considered.