Albania became a member of the Global Coalition for Addressing the Risk of Synthetic Drugs, proposed by the US Secretary of State. Minister of Interior Taulant Balla, during his speech at the High Level Meeting of the UNODC Commission on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, expressed his concern that the drug problem poses a serious threat to our countries and societies, affecting social and economic conditions or public safety.
“The complexity and scale of hard drugs has increased, exposing users to a greater number of psychoactive substances. A wide range of substances with psychoactive properties, offered in different forms, pose a potential health risk, leading to death and poisoning,” Balla said.
He added that the urgency of the fight against synthetic drugs, which is strongly supported by the United States of America, calls for concerted action through the Global Coalition to Address the Threat of Synthetic Drugs, which Albania has joined as a committed member.
The Minister added that “a comprehensive response requires increased investment in health services, an appropriate legal framework, as well as data exchange to stop the use of dangerous substances and to exercise criminal prosecution”.
Balla confirmed to the panel that the Albanian government is actively engaged in the fight against illegal drug trafficking through legislative changes aimed at expanding the list of prohibited substances.
“We are currently revising the Criminal Code to deal with criminal offenses within the School Security Perimeter, including drug trafficking and distribution”, underlined the minister, recalling the last national operation “Tempulli” (The Temple) against drug dealers.
At the end of the speech, Balla announced a number of measures to combat this phenomenon, which envisage the establishment of the National Early Warning System in 2025, as well as the National Drug Observatory in 2026, which will act as the central body responsible for collecting, analyzing and processing all drug-related data, in close cooperation with international partners.