According to Norwegian police, the country is experiencing a "cocaine tsunami" from abroad, and many addicts are also choosing to cook the drug into crack cocaine.
At the same time, there are reports that widespread abuse is leading to more threats and violence, with fights involving knives and guns becoming an increasingly common feature of Oslo's streets.
Last fall, the city of Oslo began handing out crack pipes, and drug use at Prindsen has only increased each month since.
– The reason it's called crack is because it sounds like you're frying bacon when you cook it, one toothless addict told NRK.
Along with others in his situation, they usually gather in a park in central Oslo to get high.
– I can show you how to cook and smoke it, he tells the reporter.
"Taken over the urban environment"
In the past, heavy drug use was most visible on a few busy streets, but that is not the case today, and many testify that the drug has spread throughout the city.
– It seems that crack has taken over the entire urban environment, one woman told the state broadcaster, explaining that she had lost 25 kilos since she started using the drug.
– You can't eat. Yes, you wither away, she continues.
Norway has the third highest cocaine consumption in Europe, according to the Norwegian state broadcaster. In 2023, police seized larger quantities of the drug than ever before - while it is becoming increasingly common among young people.
"Can't make it hip"
The Prindsen Reception Center has long tried to alert the authorities to the situation - but at the same time they give addicts equipment so they can cook the crack themselves.
– Harm reduction is not contagious. It is an approach to something that is already there. We can't make it hip to use the users' room, even if we tried, says Christina Livgard, a specialist at the clinic run by the city of Oslo.
According to the state broadcaster, the municipality prefers that addicts cook crack with baking soda in the reception center than with other means on the streets.
"Getting desperate for more"
Arild Knutsen, head of the Association for a Humane Drug Policy, says that most people still use powder cocaine - but that many have also started to "cook" it into crack.
He says he has noticed a sharp increase in drug use over the past year and now often sees people openly smoking the drug in broad daylight, right in the center of town.
Knutsen says that what is happening now is completely new for Norway and Oslo, and that the market is completely flooded with cocaine, which is becoming more accessible, cheaper and more potent than before. At the same time, heroin has become harder to get, which is one of the reasons why many addicts are now choosing to smoke crack cocaine instead.
– People go through withdrawal very quickly and become desperate to get more... There is increased mental illness among users. More aggression. More impulsivity. More desperation.
Threats and violence
Other addicts say that violence has also increased as crack has become more popular and knives and guns have become more common. One 51-year-old man described the trend as "sad".
According to the Norwegian police, Norway is about to be hit by a "cocaine tsunami" from abroad, with drugs being smuggled directly from South America to the Norwegian coast - often with the help of minors.
– This leads to an increase in knife use, shootings, threats and violence among street gangs, Knutsen continues.
