Overview
- The CDU–Green state government approved a regulation allowing substances brought into consumption rooms to be analyzed for dangerous adulterants or high concentrations.
- Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann said the measure is intended to reduce drug deaths and protect severely dependent users from overdoses.
- Testing is coupled with addiction counseling services to guide people on risks and safer use.
- Operators, largely welfare associations, may choose to offer the service and must bear the costs themselves, which the ministry says avoids charges to municipal budgets.
- The regulation is in force through the end of 2035 and builds on the Bundestag’s earlier authorization of drug checking; NRW recorded 769 drug deaths last year after a more than fourfold rise since 2015.