The synthetic narcotic crystal meth has spread dramatically in recent years, particularly in Eastern Europe. In the Czech Republic, the region with the highest production in Europe, around 10 tons of crystal meth are cooked every year, half of which is estimated to be smuggled into Germany. The federal states of Saxony, Thuringia, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt near the border are particularly affected.
However, the problems with the drug are rarely discussed in society - clichés about addicts remain prevalent. In this project, I meet 5 people who have had experiences with crystal meth in their past. All of them have consumed the drug, some of them have produced it themselves and some of them have dealt it. I was able to make contact with those affected through close acquaintances and document their stories in the form of pictures and text.

These stories are somehow all similar. A constant argument with parents or their alcohol problems were usually the trigger for their own drug addiction. Likewise, the loss of a job, bullying at school, separation from a loved one, financial problems, homelessness. Sometimes everything together. The gateway is often a friend who offers you drugs. The way into drug addiction is as easy as the way out is difficult. My protagonists were helped by their own fatherhood or motherhood and the close bond with a loved one. All of them managed it in an instant, but quitting is a fragile construct. In the eyes of the average person, a simple stroke of fate can set everything back to square one.