Open Drug Scenes in Prague, Czech Republic

"Detailed information about open drug scenes in Prague was provided in the 2010 Annual Report. These are found mainly in the city districts of Prague 1, 2, and 5, in the very centre of Prague, on Wenceslas Square and Charles Square and in the Vrchlický Gardens near the main railway station, but also in Smíchov. In 2011, the open drug scene did not change much, covering mainly the city centre – especially Wenceslas Square, with an estimate of more than 2,500 people each year and 300–500 daily, and Charles Square. At the end of 2011 the open drug scene shifted significantly towards the Vrchlický Gardens, i.e. a site where (injecting) drug use is tolerated (200–300 drug users daily). Smaller local drug scenes can be observed in the districts of Prague 3, 7, 8, 10, and 13 (Hlavní m?sto Praha, 2012).
"The relocation of a physician prescribing buprenorphine from Prague 5 to Prague 4 led to the creation of a new open drug scene there in the spring of 2012. In addition, the provision of substitution treatment there was temporarily discontinued at the end of April 2012, which caused an interim shortage of prescription buprenorphine® and the escalation of tensions on the drug scene. The price of 1?4 tablet of Subutex on the black market rose from CZK 100 (€ 4) to CZK 300 (€ 12) and it was estimated that several hundred injecting drug users were temporarily without access to drug substitution. A working group of the Prague City Council responded to the situation by issuing 2,000 copies of warning leaflets for users, entitled Subutex Crisis⁸⁸; see also the chapter Estimation of Clients in Substitution Treatment and Problem Use of Buprenorphine (p. 68)."