Tuesday, July 8
Drug-related deaths in Berlin at a record high
Last year, more people died in Berlin from the consumption of illegal drugs than ever before, according to statistics released by the Federal Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues on Monday. In 2024, 294 people lost their lives to illegal drug use — an increase of 23 on the previous year and a new record for the capital.
Nationally, the trend was in the opposite direction: the number of drug-related deaths across Germany fell slightly, by 90 cases, to 2,137. However, as the press release points out, this remains a very high figure.
Particularly troubling within this data is a 14 percent increase in deaths among people under 30, with fatalities from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl rising sharply. Across Germany, there were 342 deaths from synthetic opioids, along with a dramatic 70 percent increase in deaths from other new psychoactive substances.
