In an extended question to the Minister of Health, the Green deputy wanted to know, among other things, how things were going with the implementation of the national drug plan.
It is a problem that is becoming more and more visible, François Benoy underlined, most obviously at the Abrigado homeless shelter.
He continued by stressing that drugs do not know borders, whether this is on a national or neighbourhood level. Therefore, the government must be committed to deciding on the problem with the help of the municipalities.
The government must evaluate structures and adapt them to current needs, and most importantly, has to take responsibility.
"Only the drugs help me forget": inside Luxembourg's drug consumption roomPaulette Lenert explained that there are currently four service providers in the country; two in the city, one in Esch and one in Ettelbréck. She did not deny that the main drug hotspot remains in the capital.
She plans to transfer Abrigado's supervised inhalation room to another site, which should also be separated from the injection room.
Most importantly, she seeks to decentralise the night shelter and relocate it, so that the hotspot for drug consumption is diffused.
For years, there have been demands that the structures of the shelter be distributed more around the country. In addition to Ettelbrück and Esch, we also need such drug consumption rooms in other regions, says François Benoy.
At the moment, the parlour has around 180 clients per day, whereas only 50 clients per structure are normal.
With more, but smaller structures, social and drug work can also be better adapted to the clientele. This can also reduce the negative side effects for the neighbourhood.
Lenert added that these structures among other help save lives: over 2,400 overdoses have been prevented in the shelter so far. Moreover, the number of drug-related deaths has decreased significantly over the past 15 years due to the drug plan.
The Minister announced that an inter-ministerial working group is currently drawing up a state of affairs on drug-related crime in Bonnevoie and on the Gare. She underlined that if one could work in a more decentralised way, one would get better access to the sick. The fifth Action Plan on Drugs is therefore on the right track.
