Crack use on the rise, especially among homeless people and migrant workers

Crack use is on the rise again in the Netherlands, NRC reported after speaking to researchers, experts, and addicts. The street price of the very addictive drug has dropped, making it more popular among homeless people. New groups, such as migrant workers and asylum seekers, are also becoming addicted, the newspaper wrote.

Crack is processed cocaine that crackles when you smoke it. The drug, also called base coke, produces an euphoric feeling that eliminates worries for a few minutes, after which it wears off. The street price of crack has dropped in recent years because the supply of cocaine has increased in Europe. 0.1 grams of crack now costs around 5 euros, according to the newspaper.

“Crack use is on the rise throughout the Netherlands: in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, and other parts of the country,” Ella Bowler of Mainline, a foundation that aims to reduce the harm of drug use and promote the health of users, told NRC. Mainline has been researching crack use in the Netherlands with the Trimbos Institute. The results of this study, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Public Health, should be published in the coming months.

Generally, people don’t use crack because it’s fun, researcher Ton Nabben of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences told NRC. He has been studying drug users in the Netherlands for decades. Most crack users face a series of problems, he said. Many are homeless and unemployed. They often also have family problems and debt. “They’ve been marginalized and fallen into despair.” According to Nabben, crack users can be characterized by their sense of hopelessness.

Bowler of Mainline sees that migrant workers in the Netherlands are increasingly using crack. When they lose their jobs, they often lose their homes as well and end up on the streets, Bowler told NRC. Because they aren’t Dutch citizens, they often don’t have access to homeless shelters and other forms of support, so they end up on park benches and under bridges, where they come into contact with other crack users. “The government has abandoned this group for years,” Bowler said.

Asylum seekers, especially young men from “safe” countries like Morocco and Algeria, are also increasingly finding their way to the drug, Bowler added. “They’re devastated by the endless asylum process, and out of desperation, they start smoking crack.”

In 2012, the Trimbos Institute estimated that there were around 6,659 crack addicts in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague. Current figures are not yet available, but should be published with the Trimbos and Mainline study soon.