Sven Wirsen, a convicted drug dealer and ex-addict, wants to give something back to society after his release and holds dissuasive courses at German schools. In this interview, he talks about his motivation and how he wants to encourage young people to take a different career path.
Mr. Wirsen, your transformation began after you were sent to prison. Please tell us more about it.
After I was sent to prison four years ago, I went cold turkey from chrystal meth and other drugs. The years of addiction were so severe that I had to go to the prison hospital for detoxification. When the worst was over, I realized that I had hit rock bottom. I had repressed so much and now that I was clear again, I found myself in prison with a sentence of years. I wanted to change my life. After I was transferred from hospital back to a normal prison, I heard about a woman who ran mindfulness courses. So I thought I'd sign up, I just wanted to work on myself. I went there without a clear idea of what exactly was going to happen on the course.
The woman sat there and practiced "pausing" - she struck a singing bowl and everyone had to be quiet when she made the sound. That was totally unusual for me. I thought it was totally stupid at the time, but I thought about it later. I realized more and more things in the cell and I thought to myself: Wow, that's really good. For example, there was the "reconditioning". If you've never been in prison before and you're remanded in custody, it's a really extreme experience. You're totally dissatisfied with everything: the cell is shit, the food is shit, everything is shit. When we did the reconditioning in the course, we were given homework. We were supposed to write down all the good things we had experienced that day.
"Where is there supposed to be anything nice in prison?"
Back then I thought: She's going home now - and what are we supposed to experience? Everything here is crap! In my prison, you were only allowed to shower twice a week if you didn't have a job. That was the case for me. So if you hadn't showered for a few days and then you're finally standing under the warm jet of water - you think to yourself: Wow, that's nice. That's when I realized: you're experiencing something beautiful right now. From then on, I started looking. When you sit in your cell and the sun touches your face, it feels good. Realizing that there is also something beautiful behind bars made my time bearable. That was just one example of how the mindfulness course changed my life.
You say you want to give something back, to make up for something. Where does this will come from?
I learned that through the mindfulness course and reading books about Buddhism. Because there was nothing at all in our prison, it's just "detention". You're not given the opportunity to work on yourself. Basically, everything is negative. On my courses, I explain to the students that all prison inmates always have an excuse as to why they are there. You have a self-image of yourself and inside everyone thinks of themselves: Hey, I'm a really nice guy with a few rough edges, but basically I'm okay.
"You always have an excuse why you're there"
"If my wife hadn't cheated on me, I wouldn't have killed her. If the guy hadn't insulted me like that, I wouldn't have stabbed him. I was a major dealer and made my own amphetamines. The minimum purchase quantity was one kilo, there was no discussion about that. My excuse was that people came to me, so I was off the hook. I was just meeting the demand. But at some point I understood. I realized that I was actually responsible for the drugs, which were later sold on. Maybe they even ended up in schools and caused addiction. But it took a long time for me to really realize that.
Immediately after the conviction, I was totally angry and blamed others. So I spent a year and a half thinking about the best way to get back at the guy who betrayed me. I then do a little question and answer session in schools. "Who do you think is to blame? Whose fault is it that I ended up in prison? The guy who betrayed me? The public prosecutor? The judge?" Then I explain to the young people what I found out after a long time. Namely that it was all my fault. I decided to do it this way. When you start to think about it, you realize that you've often done really bad things. Holding up a mirror to yourself like that hurts. I then decided to change my life when I got out. And that's exactly what I did.
What stumbling blocks did you come across?
When I was made redundant, I was unemployed, homeless and stood in the rain with no money and two sports bags. I walked out of there all alone. Like in a bad movie. I had so few prospects for the future that I was really sad to have been made redundant. I wanted to go back. Because there, in prison, I had a life. There was my room, I had a good job with the library manager. I was even on a first-name basis with some of the officers, that was my home. Outside, I no longer had any social contacts I could turn to. So I lived in a Caritas homeless shelter for two years.
Five residents and a social worker were accommodated on each of the four floors of this transitional home. Everyone there was a serious drug addict. And as an ex-drug addict, I was right in the middle of it. The guy opposite me sold amphetamines, the one next to me was hooked on needles every day. When I came home in the evening, he was lying in the hallway with a needle in his arm. I climbed over him and went into my room. Yes, those were the best conditions for becoming a productive member of society again. There's a saying. When you're dismissed, the officers say on the way out: See you next time.
Despite these hurdles, you have managed to reintegrate into society under your own steam. You are now even doing educational work with young people in schools. How does such a visit work?
First I introduce myself and my work. Then I try to find out the students' level of knowledge. I have small cards on which various drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine and others are depicted. Then I pin three categories to the board as headings. I have the students assign the drugs. Are they stimulants, opiates or hallucinogens?
In the next step, I explain to them how these drugs work. After all, I've taken them all. But I don't tell the young people any nonsense during my talk. It feels good when you take them, otherwise nobody would do it. Chrystal meth gives you such a flash, such a high, you can't beat it with anything else. Being in love, having sex, whatever - it's boring compared to that. Once you've had that feeling, you want it again and again. That's exactly why drug use inevitably leads to crime. Unfortunately, that's always the case because you get into massive money problems very quickly. First you steal something from your mom, sell some of your stuff and then you have to find money in other ways. I ended up spending an estimated 2,000 - 3,000 euros a month on drugs.
Not only the effect is explained - but also the dangers
After all, I have produced amphetamines myself and therefore know that sulphuric acid is used for this. So you also ingest this acid with the drug. Then the students get to hear a few stories from my life. For example, how blood sprayed out of my nostrils because I cauterized a vein in my nose when I pulled up. Anecdotes like that make it easier to remember and that's the end of the first part of the lesson.
After the break, I tell my addiction story. Why and how I got into it. It all started when I took an ecstasy at a techno party 25 years ago. That one pill turned into more and more, like an avalanche. Then I explain what it feels like when you've completely lost control. You're basically like a puppet and the drugs control you. Then I tell them what the drugs have done to me. I've become chronically ill, I have ulcerative colitis, an incurable bowel disease and a preliminary stage of esophageal cancer. Smoking has already caused me to lose 40 percent of my lung volume. I then mention my friends who have either died, are seriously ill or have severe mental health problems. Some of them have ended up in a nursing home.
Finally, a very personal memory.
At the end, I talk about my mother. I was allowed to talk to her on the phone once a week. Only in the presence of an officer, of course, and the loudspeaker had to be on. She told me that she has the most aggressive form of breast cancer and will probably die. The officer then said: "If your mother is dead, you might even be able to go to the funeral. With handcuffs, shackles and officers on your right and left." After the phone call, I returned to my cell and realized what loneliness is. I sat in my cell, couldn't go to my mother and couldn't visit her in hospital. I couldn't hold her hand. I sat there and cried.
I end my presentation with a piece of advice: "Be careful what decisions you make. So you don't end up crying like me in 20 years' time." That's the end of the school day.
This package of education, the course of addiction and the effects is quite unique. As far as I know, there are only 1-2 people in Germany who do something similar.
Thank you very much for your time and your great commitment.
This is only an abridged version. The full interview can be found in Menschen & Rechte.
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References:
Interview with Mr. Wirsen on June 10, 2025
Photo credits: Association "Lernraum Knast e.V." by Stephanie Hofmann
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