Cologne, Germany -- September 01, 2026 -- Hospital treatments for cocaine-related emergencies are climbing across North Rhine-Westphalia, while crimes tied to cocaine and crack have tripled over the past decade, according to a new data analysis published Monday by German radio station 1LIVE. The station's data journalists examined police crime statistics from the state's LKA and 12 district police authorities, alongside state health data on hospital admissions. The findings point to a drug once tied mainly to nightlife now turning up in everyday emergency rooms across the region's largest cities.
Big cities report the sharpest rise in ER visits
Hospital admissions linked to cocaine use in 2024 clustered most heavily in NRW's larger cities. Hagen, Cologne and Dortmund recorded the highest number of cocaine-related hospital stays per 100,000 residents, based on state health data reviewed by 1LIVE. Duisburg saw admissions climb eightfold over the past ten years, the sharpest increase recorded in the state. Krefeld and Leverkusen followed with a sevenfold rise over the same period. Herford stood out as the only city where cocaine-related hospitalizations declined.
Doctors point to easier access as a driver
Barbara Schneider, who heads the addiction psychiatry department at LVR-Klinik in Cologne, described wider availability of the drug as a key factor behind rising dependency, since a substance has to stay consistently accessible before addiction can take hold. Felix Strobach, who leads youth addiction counseling at Drogenhilfe Köln, has watched cocaine shift from an occasional party drug into something people now reach for in everyday situations. He said many users underestimate its risks compared with other substances, often turning to the drug's euphoric effect to cope with stress or pressure to perform at work or school. His counseling sessions frequently touch on clients dealing with high performance pressure in daily life.
Recorded crimes hit a ten-year high
Police in NRW logged roughly 7,500 offenses tied to cocaine and crack in 2025, three times as many as a decade earlier, according to the Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik published in April 2026. The tally combines possession, trafficking, production and smuggling cases. The steepest single-year jump came between 2022 and 2023, when recorded offenses rose 25 percent.
Investigators cite two forces behind the surge
NRW's State Criminal Police Office attributed the climb to two overlapping factors: intensified police checks and investigations, and growing availability of the drug on the street. The statistics only capture cases that came to police attention and don't show how many led to convictions.