GERMANY: “Not a harmless luxury product” - Crack crisis escalates! Expert sounds the alarm

GERMANY: “Cocaine is not a harmless luxury product” - Crack crisis escalates! Expert sounds the alarm
The availability and consumption of illegal drugs in Germany is increasing significantly. Ralf Michelfelder, former president of the LKA Baden-Württemberg, sees the causes in global developments: Cocaine production in South America has doubled in the last ten years to 2,000 tons a year, 60% of which ends up in Europe. Germany is an important market here - both for consumption and for trade. According to the EU, illegal drugs generate an annual turnover of 30 billion euros in Europe.
According to Michelfelder, the partial legalization of cannabis has also exacerbated the problem. “The law has increased availability instead of reducing it,” he criticizes. This development attracts criminal networks such as the Mocro Mafia, which is active in North Rhine-Westphalia, among other places. Availability is a key problem, as it increases consumption - an effect that has also been observed in the USA following cannabis releases.
According to Michelfelder, the increasing use of crack, a cheaper version of cocaine, is particularly worrying. At the same time, cocaine has lost its status as a luxury drug, which means that its dangers are often underestimated. Michelfelder is therefore calling for greater prevention in order to make the risks of these drugs clearer.
He also warns against the situation in the USA, where fentanyl - a powerful opiate - has massive social and health consequences.