Geneva’s fightback against crack cocaine making inroads

Crack action plan already making an impact in Geneva Keystone-SDA

The first measures taken under Geneva's crack cocaine action plan have stabilised the crisis after just one year. The plan launched by the canton is due to last three years.

The situation is under control, which wasn’t the case a year ago when the number of crack users was doubling every month, according to Thomas Herquel, director of Première Ligne, the association that runs the Quai 9 injection room. In an interview published on Saturday in the Le Temps paper, he stated that “the number of users is constant and violent acts have decreased”.

Herquel’s estimates are based on the number of crack pipes distributed, which averages about 90 a day. According to him, the peak of users has been reached. He notes that the police and the association have succeeded in better monitoring of the area and combating ‘crack tourism’.

Crack consumption soared in Geneva from 2021 onwards, with the arrival on the market of very small doses of this highly addictive drug at very low prices. The government launched a three-year action plan at the end of 2023, costing CHF6 million a year.

Crack is diluted cocaine. It takes the form of a crystallised paste and is smoked.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

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