German opposition seeks to decriminalise crystal meth

Germany’s Left Party (Die Linke) has called for allowing addicts access to small amounts of crystal meth and other drugs including cocaine, heroin and ecstasy under close “therapeutic support”.

Through its motion, the party is seeking a “fundamental rethink” of the country’s drug policy, RT reported on Wednesday.

The party says relaxing the country's drug policy will reduce the time spent prosecuting addicts and free up police resources for more important matters.

Drug users must be “consistently protected from criminal prosecution,” the parliamentary motion states. 

“Police, public prosecutors, courts and last but not least medical facilities must be relieved and be able to concentrate on important public welfare tasks.”

The use of crystal meth has been on the rise in Germany for years. 

According to statistics, the number of related crimes witnessed 18.9 percent rise in 2020 over the previous year, for a total of 12,000 cases.

Fresh figures are not yet available but drug policy experts have warned that the Covid-19 lockdowns likely exacerbated the problem, as they have in other countries.

READ MORE: Europe's drug trade 'remarkably resilient' to pandemic disruption

The Left Party has not always been in favour of letting meth addicts use the drug with impunity.

Drug policy spokesman Frank Tempel explained as recently as 2015 that while he was in favour of legalising substitutes for meth, which would give addicts “controlled quality” to rely upon, the substance itself must remain banned.

“This stuff is so dangerous you can’t legalise it,” he said.

Germany began allowing the use of cannabis for medical purposes in 2017 and earlier this year began the process of legalising the drug recreationally.

READ MORE: Record-breaking drug seizures point to pandemic narcotics boom