It observes that the problems emerged in the mid-1960's, with the first juvenile deaths from drug overdosage occurring in 1969. Subsequently, the city's drug problem is assessed to have escalated to the point where Frankfurt is known as 'hash meadow' and a Mecca for all types of drug abusers. The situation is described in relation to total crime in the city, the population and geographic distribution of drug-related criminality, the amounts, value, of and kinds of illicit substances sold, the relationship of addiction to other crime forms, the nature of the drug market, and nationality and operations of the principal large-scale traffickers. Police countermeasures are discussed in terms of political considerations, cooperation with treatment agencies, and specific departmental manpower and resource allocation policies and investigative techniques to combat the problem effectively. Tabular data are given.