|
Europe:
German
Drug
Deaths
at
15-Year
Low,
Government
Credits
Harm
Reduction
5/20/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/387/germany.shtml
An annual report from the
German Health Ministry has found that the number of people who died from
illegal drug use in Germany is at its lowest level since 1989, and the
German government is crediting harm reduction measures for the decline.
Some 1,385 people died from drug overdoses last year, down by about a hundred
from the previous year. (By comparison, about 15,000 people die from
illegal drugs each year in the US. Since Germany has roughly one-quarter
the population of the US, that means that US citizens are dying of drug
overdoses at a rate roughly four times that of Germans.)
The German government has
backed the establishment of methadone substitution programs and safe injection
sites a cornerstone of its drug policy, with a total of 25 safe injection
sites across the country. "The decline shows the government is on
the right track with its help for drug addicts," drug commissioner Marion
Caspers-Merk said at a Wednesday press conference announcing the data.
According to the report,
between 120,000 and 150,000 people in a nation of 82 million are opiate
addicts. Nearly half of them -- 60,000 -- are receiving substitute
treatments, primarily with methadone.
While Caspers-Merk pronounced
himself pleased with hard drug policy, he expressed concern about growing
marijuana use among adolescents. Among 12-to-15-year-olds, 24% reported
having tried pot, a figure Caspers-Merk found "alarming."
-- END --
|
Issue #387
-- 5/20/05
Editorial:
Weak
Claims
of
Success
|
Feature:
Bush
Administration
Claims
Success
in
Colombia
Drug
War,
Seeks
More
Money
|
Feature:
As
California
Grapples
With
Medical
Marijuana,
Some
Communities
Move
to
Regulate
or
Ban
Dispensaries
|
Nightmare
in
Bali:
Young
Australian
Woman
Faces
Possible
Death
Sentence
for
Marijuana
Smuggling
in
Case
Stirring
Passions
|
Announcement:
DRCNet/Perry
Fund
Event
to
Feature
US
Rep.
Jim
McDermott,
June
1
in
Seattle
|
Weekly:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Free
Speech:
NJ
Weedman
Arrested
at
Statehouse
Over
Pot
Leaf
T-Shirt
|
Sports:
Drug
Czar's
Team
Runs
From
Drug
Reform
"One-Hitters"
|
Australia:
South
Australia
Announces
Tough
New
Drug
Laws
|
Asia:
US
"Drug
Expert"
Says
No
Way
to
Afghan
Opium-Into-Medicine
Proposal
|
Canada:
Former
Vancouver
Top
Drug
Cop's
Study
Finds
Drug
Busts
Boost
Drug
Sales
|
Europe:
German
Drug
Deaths
at
15-Year
Low,
Government
Credits
Harm
Reduction
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Job
Listing:
Outreach
Coordinator,
Coalition
for
Higher
Education
Act
Reform
(DRCNet)
|
Job
Postings:
Drug
Policy
Alliance,
Marijuana
Policy
Project,
Community
HIV/AIDS
Mobilization
Project
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
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|
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