The annual number of young drug-related deaths in Germany has reportedly tripled since 2016. As reported by the Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR) on Wednesday, 131 people under the age of 22 died from drugs across Germany in 2021. Among them were even three children aged up to 13 years inclusive. In 2016 the number was still 44. The sender relies on a search of the format “STRG_F”. As the broadcaster further announced, not all federal states had submitted figures. Data from Bremen and Saarland were missing for 2016.
The federal government’s drug commissioner, Burkhard Blienert, described the numbers as “alarming and unacceptable”. More had to be done to stop the development, he told the Evangelical Press Service (epd). He urges more early intervention, more prevention and more help for severely dependent people everywhere. “Waiting eight years to start therapy is simply unacceptable.”
In addition, he wanted “drug consumption rooms throughout Germany, drug checking and secure and solid financing of addiction support overall,” said the drug commissioner. A “modern, practical drug policy in the city and in the country” is needed and not “business as usual” to really reduce the number of people dying from illegal drugs.
According to NDR, the background to the number query was research by “STRG_F” on illegal rave parties. In the “STRG_F” film, the protagonists report that the scene has changed: partygoers pay less and less attention to each other, more and more drugs are consumed openly, and many drug-using ravers are also minors. Research by “STRG_F” had confirmed this, according to the NDR.
After such a rave in a bunker in Cologne, a 20-year-old died in August – apparently from an overdose. The cause of death has not yet been finally clarified. Shortly after the death, rumors surfaced that the young man was helped too late because other revelers were reluctant to call 911.
The film, titled “Illegal Raves: Are They Getting More Dangerous?” is available on STRG_F’s YouTube channel