Wednesday, 30 July
Drug-checking in Berlin: One in two party drugs flagged as dangerous
New data released by Berlin’s health administration shows that nearly half of the 3,596 drug samples tested under the city’s two year drug-checking programme were flagged with dangerous health warnings.
The analysis, carried out between July 2023 and June 2025, concentrated on commonly-used party stimulants like ecstasy, amphetamines, cocaine and synthetic drugs. The results were troubling: 48.3% of these samples were either dangerously high in dosage, mislabelled, or cut heavily with harmful substances.
In its second year, the programme turned away around 50 people a month due to a lack of capacity—only slightly fewer than the first year. Still, the initiative has proved exceedingly popular. More than 25,000 people visit the DrugChecking Berlin website monthly, and of those using the service, 82% had never accessed addiction assistance or harm reduction services before. The majority were between 18 and 39, and 71% were male.
According to a survey cited in the report, 27% of users stated the results made them consider not taking the drug at all, while 28% said they would take smaller amounts. Vasili Franco, the Green Party’s drug policy spokesperson, said that was exactly the point: “Those who use drugs should be able to deal with the associated risks as best as possible. Drug checking improves education, prevention, and access to help for addiction patterns.”
Franco praised the Green Party-initiated project as a valuable tool, but stated it was regrettable that drug users had to be turned away due to capacity shortages. The service currently operates on a €200,000 annual budget from the Berlin government—a figure, Franco argued, that CDU and SPD lawmakers should increase in the upcoming budget negotiations.
