look bad, but we also need to consider the right medical and psychosocial approach to help these persons,” emphasises Gérald Thévoz referring to a heroin-based medical treatment. The authorities in Zurich, Berne and Lausanne are also looking into the regulated sale of cocaine. manager of the foundation that supports drug addicts in Tremplin, Fribourg. Psychotropic drug users take more medicine there than elsewhere. “If ready-made crack comes here, we will apply the lessons learned in Geneva,” remarks Nicolas Dietrich, Fribourg commissioner for addictions. The canton has already witnessed the early stages of the drug and has set up a dedicated working group in response. Cocaine: a reaction to living on the edge? The popularity of crack in Switzerland may be partly due to precarious circumstances. “Switzerland has reached a nadir in the deterioration of its social and economic conditions,” believes Hervé Durgnat, member of a cantonal commission of addiction experts in the canton of Vaud. Experts were surprised that crack was being used in Switzerland’s streets. “We found it incongruous that people would consume crack so openly in a rich country like Switzerland,” says Durgnat. Some of the people are already familiar with the drug or are on replacement medication and susceptible to relapse. “We take in people who may be close to retirement, are often ill and sometimes live in hotel accommodation. What prospects have they got?” asks Pascal Dupont rhetorically. In Geneva, the Quai 9 social workers bring bottles of water and food to the exhausted users taken in from the street. Emergency shelters offer respite and there are places that will take in crack users regardless of their condition, but the usual thresholds – minimum stay for example – are sometimes too high for these unstable people. “Policy-makers don’t want to make the situation Overt addiction: crack addicts are becoming conspicuous, especially in the cities. A photo from Geneva. Photo: Nils Ackermann, Lundi13 Thomas Herquel of Première ligne in his clinical-looking premises, Quai 9 in Geneva. Addicts sometimes behave aggressively, says Herquel. Photo: Nils Ackermann, Lundi13 “We found it incongruous that people would consume crack so openly in a rich country like Switzerland.” Hervé Durgnat, addiction expert in the canton of Vaud Swiss Review / January 2024 / No.1 15
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