NOWHERE IS IMMUNE –
July 8, 2026 – Lorant, 46, said he turned to drugs as a form as ‘self-medication’ to cope with depression .In 2025, 2,150 people died as a result of taking drugs, up from 2,137 in 2024 and just under the all-time high of 2,227 recorded deaths in 2023. Roughly one in four were under 30 (528), up 53% from 2021, and 106 were under 20, almost double the number in 2021. The victims were on average 40.6 years old.
“Many of these young people are not yet able to fully grasp the risks,” he said. Streeck, a physician and member of the Bundestag for the center-right Christian Democrats, cited psychological stress and crises as possible factors for drug use by for young people, but also curiosity and recklessness.
According to the latest figures, 81.5% of deaths were connected to mixing substances. There has also been a 110.7% increase in the number of crack- and cocaine-related deaths since 2021.
