Consumption rooms - A middle ground between health and public order concerns

Abstract

After working in a juridical gray field for nearly a decade, drug consumption rooms were legalized by the German government in February 2000, with certain legal and professional stipulations. At present, 16 such facilities are being operated in 5 large German cities. This study describes the effects of the drug consumption rooms and summarizes the available scientific data associated with their evaluation. Finally, problematic aspects of drug consumption rooms are discussed.