Excerpts from the state's attorney's charge against Christiane Vera F. at the state courthouse of Berlin, dated July 27, 1977.
The student Christiane Vera F. is charged as a legally responsible juvenile with having used regulated narcotic substances continuously after May 20, 1976, without authorization by the Federal Department of Health.1 Moreover, the accused has been using heroin since February 1976, injecting herself with approximately one quarter of a gram each time—at first only intermittently, but then later on a daily basis. She has been criminally responsible and accountable since May 20, 1976.
On March 1 and March 13, 1976, the accused was found in the halls of the Zoo and Kurfürstendamm subway stations, and searched for drugs. She had two substances containing heroin on her person, one weighing 18 mg and the other 140.7 mg.
On May 12, 1977, the mother of the accused, Mrs. F., found a heroin-containing substance among her daughter's personal belongings, which she sent to the criminal division of the police. As a result, on that same day, a tinfoil packet containing 62.4 mg of a heroin-containing substance was confirmed to be among the personal effects of the accused. Heroin-related paraphernalia was also found among her personal effects. Laboratory tests revealed that there were heroin-containing substances adhering to the paraphernalia. Also, analysis of her urine revealed the presence of morphine.
In her defense, the accused stated that she had been using heroin since February 1976. In addition, she had worked as a prostitute since the winter of 1976 to acquire the money she needed in order to purchase the drugs.
It must be assumed that the accused continues to consume heroin today.
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1 In the 1970s and 1980s, the German government's policy on drug use was extremely strict. In the years that followed, a number of experimental new policies were put into place, including “harm reduction,” a policy in which drug addicts are given low doses of drugs in a controlled environment. But at this time in Germany all drug users were considered criminals and expected to become drug-free.