The Neumarkt area, a central square in Cologne, has rapidly transformed into what police are calling a “large drug supermarket,” with around 800 drug users and homeless individuals gathering there daily, attracting dealers.
This situation, reported by Die Welt, has created a sense of insecurity among passersby and threatens local businesses, according to Thomas Klefus, head of the business association IG Neumarkt. Outgoing Cologne mayor Henriette Reker has also recognized the gravity of the issue.
A key factor behind the escalating problem in public spaces is the spread of crack cocaine, a homemade, smokable form of purified cocaine. This highly addictive drug induces pathological behavioral changes. Heino Stöver from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences notes that crack cocaine use has proliferated in major German cities over the past 7-8 years, mirroring the rise of street drug use seen in the 1980s with heroin. However, unlike the heroin crisis, the crack cocaine issue remains largely unaddressed, as harm reduction programs and substitution therapies that helped with heroin are not in place for crack.
Looking at today’s Cologne, Klefus and Reker suggest adopting a strategy similar to Switzerland’s, which has proven effective in cities like Zurich. In Switzerland, drug users are removed from the streets, and contact and consultation centers are established to provide medical, social, and controlled drug consumption support. “Cologne needs a combination of zero-tolerance policies and decentralized care and accommodation options,” says Klefus, head of IG Neumarkt.
Cologne’s police chief, Johannes Hermanns, shares a similar stance, proposing that controlled use of “hard drugs” in medical environments—where dependent individuals could receive drugs from doctors—could reduce black market demand. This approach, he told MDR media, might offer a potential solution to the problem.
