Dortmund wants to relocate the drug scene – and is starting an attempt

The city of Dortmund is planning to relocate the drug scene from the city center – and is starting an experiment: an empty area will now serve as a new lounge area.

The city of Dortmund will relocate the drug scene from the city center. The background to the move is the increasing number of better, often crack-addicted people in the city center. Traders and residents of the city center had called for drug help to be relocated due to the sometimes aggressive addicts in front of their dealers.

No alternative location has yet been found for the “kick” drug consumption room. But Mayor Thomas Westphal (SPD) has now announced that he wants to prepare a currently undeveloped area on the corner of Martinstrasse and Grafenhof as a lounge area for the scene. “The capacity limits of the consumption room have been significantly exceeded,” said Mayor Thomas Westphal last Tuesday. This leads to the well-known complaints from those close to the facility.

The mayor emphasizes that the project is just an experiment. The operator of the consumption room is involved in the measure. If the attempt is successful and the scene accepts the area, the area could be used for a maximum until the consumption room is moved, as the owner of the area will build on it in the future. The area should be prepared by the end of the year. Mayor Westphal emphasizes: “The goal is to find a new location for the drug consumption room.”

However, when and where this move will take place remains unclear. The administration says it has now examined several dozen options. A selection of alternatives was initially discussed in the parliamentary groups.

For a year, the city and police have been fighting the problems surrounding crack addiction with a special team. The strategy: increased patrols and offers of help for addicts and homeless people. According to Dortmund police chief Gregor Lange, the measures “have had a very high impact,” as he summarized on Tuesday. However, it is clear that police involvement in the fight against crack cocaine will not be the solution.