But Germany's "Drug-Consumption Rooms" Keep Addicts Safe Until They're Ready To Kick -- Or Not

In 2000 the German Parliament signed into law an amendment to the Narcotics Act legalizing "drug-consumption rooms," or Drogenkonsumräum (DKRs). These facilities, operated by nonprofits, provide space where hard users can take drugs in a safe environment under medical supervision. In the years since the amendment, drug-related deaths in Germany have decreased by 25 percent. Similar facilities have opened in Vancouver, B.C., and Australia, where they're called "safe injection rooms." But in Germany they are explicitly legal.

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