A new so-called drug consumption room for people addicted to drugs has opened at the Kottbusser Tor in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
This means that since Monday there have been two permanent contact points in the area where addicts can inject or inhale drugs such as heroin and crack under medical supervision. This was announced by the Senate and the district on Monday. A second contact and advice center is located in the nearby Reichenberger Straße.
So far, there has only been one mobile facility directly at Kottbusser Tor. The addicts often take their drug in the underground passageways to the subway or in the stairwells of the surrounding high-rise buildings.
The drug consumption room therefore offers accommodation, advice, toilets and emergency medical care. Addicts are given sterile syringes and needles, and used items are disposed of.
The facility is to be used primarily by homeless addicts and immigrants with drug problems. Rent, staff and materials are paid for by the state of Berlin and the district.
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Health Senator Ulrike Gote (Greens) said: “Safe drug consumption rooms are an indispensable offer of help for drug-addicted people in Berlin.”
The district emphasized that this would improve the situation, especially for neighbors, families with children and shopkeepers.