Speaking at the Patrida opioid addiction clinic in Berlin, Federal Drug Commissioner Hendrik Streeck announced the latest figures on the number of drug-related deaths in Germany.

Streeck said he was saddened to have to announce the figures, which, he said, had become something of an annual ritual. He also spoke of his shock at the rising number of young victims.

In 2025, 2,150 people died as a result of taking drugs, up from 2,137 in 2024 and just under the all-time high of 2,227 recorded deaths in 2023. Roughly one in four were under 30 (528), up 53% from 2021, and 106 were under 20, almost double the number in 2021. The victims were on average 40.6 years old.

"Many of these young people are not yet able to fully grasp the risks," he said. Streeck, a physician and member of the Bundestag for the center-right Christian Democrats, cited psychological stress and crises as possible factors for drug use by for young people, but also curiosity and recklessness. 

According to the latest figures, 81.5% of deaths were connected to mixing substances. There has also been a 110.7% increase in the number of crack- and cocaine-related deaths since 2021.

Free drug samples left in mailboxes

Berlin's police force yesterday issued a warning about packages containing free drug samples left by dealers in people's mailboxes. The colorful plastic packets contain drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and cannabis and are printed with a contact number. 

Stickers with QR codes linking to drug dealers can be found across the city, particularly around clubs and streets lined with bars. Business cards with offers on dealers' WhatsApp and Telegram channels have also been distributed in bars and clubs.

Another striking aspect of the new figures compiled by the Federal Criminal Police Office is the number of young people who died from prescription medications. Although they are generally not the sole cause of death, benzodiazepines, opioid-containing pain relievers and other psychoactive medications frequently play a role.

The number of deaths linked to the use of these substances has more than doubled within four years: from 365 cases in 2021 to 769 cases in 2025. At the same time, synthetic opioids continue to spread. For example, 118 deaths were recorded involving fentanyl, more than 20% higher than the previous year.

Fentanyl deaths up by over one-third 

Streeck has previously warned that the drug market is becoming increasingly opaque and the substances ever more dangerous. Laboratory-produced opioids are reportedly replacing the drugs that were previously extracted from poppy fields in Afghanistan following an opium ban imposed by the Taliban.

Streeck announced measures, including a comprehensive monitoring and warning system to quickly identify substances circulating on the market and to best prepare medical and social workers. There will also be increased prevention and support services for young people.

Drug use has continued to rise worldwide recently, particularly for cocaine and synthetic drugs.

"Drugs, counterfeit medications, and high-risk mixtures are often just a few clicks away these days," said Streeck, adding that the "dealer on the street corner" is far from the only problem.

Drug treatment system 'severely underfunded'

Streeck also warned that cities and municipalities were increasingly being left alone to deal with the consequences of drug use. 

"This system is under pressure," he said. "Help is hard to come by in many places, too slow, and severely underfunded."

Robert, a 62-year-old patient at Patrida, broke down in tears when asked where he would be without the treatment provided by the clinic. "That's the sad thing. I'd be dead."

He described heroin use as a form of self-medication. "Why do you take it? Why do you want it? One person can drink a beer and find peace, the other smokes a bag [of drugs]," he said.

"We're the last ones left alive," said fellow Patrida patient Lorant of the many friends he's lost to heroin addiction. At 19, he was sentenced to three years in a Bavarian prison for possession of cannabis and graffitiing.

"I went in a pot smoker and came out a junkie," he said.

Now 46, he described his drug use as a way to cope with depression and suicidal ideation.

Patrida, in the northwest of the capital, offers long-term addicts access to diamorphine, the opioid painkiller better known by its street name heroin.

Around 180 patients are currently in treatment here, of which roughly 120 visit twice a day to inject diamorphine. The clinic offers psychotherapy, and there are social workers here to help with the bureaucracy of daily life.

There are two other diamorphine clinics like this in Berlin. Thomas Peschel, the clinic's director, says demand is so high they are forced to turn people away.

"There aren't enough doctors," Peschel said. "There is a generation of doctors that came of the 1990s who were committed to ideals and really wanted to help. The infectious disease specialists [who lived through the HIV/AIDS crisis], they are gradually all retiring."

The world's first drug consumption room was opened in the Swiss city of Bern in 1986. The German government is currently working on a joint research project with France to develop substitution treatments for cocaine and crack addiction, according to Streeck. 

Edited by Rina Goldenberg