Experts for "VOA": The fight against drugs in schools requires not only police intervention

2024-02-12 12:17:00, Aktualitet CNA

Experts for "VOA": The fight against drugs in schools requires not

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Hundreds of police forces have recently carried out a large-scale operation in Albania, previously unsuspected, to attack drug distribution networks in schools.

About 300 people have been arrested in the act, not only in the country's capital, but also in small towns, and hundreds of kilograms of narcotics, mainly marijuana, but also strong types of drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, have been seized by the police.

The security expert, Pëllumb Nako, tells "Voice of America" ??that he sees the police operation as a positive development, especially for the fact that it has targeted drug dealers in areas near schools.

"I think the fact of establishing a security perimeter near schools in Albania is a good thing, but it should be deepened because there are other phenomena that must be addressed by the responsible institutions, such as those of public health and local governments," he says.

Mr. Nako further says that the arrests of distributors have also proven the high number of drug users in schools for which there is no data from public health institutions.

"The other fact of the arrest of a large number of people known as drug dealers means that the drug consumption market in our country is quite large and this comes out in the form of a deduction. That is, we measure this by the arrests made by the police for drug dealers, while other institutions that are competent in this regard, that deal with public health, do not provide any statistics or regularly publish reports on the number of drug users in Albania", he says.

Regional health care directorates in many areas of the country are mainly engaged in awareness campaigns, says Edi Sinoimeri who heads the Health Care Unit in Gjirokastër.

"Next to our center is a special sector, the mental health sector. We usually operate in educational institutions in cooperation with educational directorates and school institutions promoting, monitoring, but also advising to prevent the phenomenon of drug use by young people or from teenagers in educational institutions", he says to "Voice of America".

Another important link in the fight against drug phenomena is the local government, says Mr. Nako. According to him, municipalities should have centers for the rehabilitation of drug users and budgets for the treatment of these phenomena.

"The police in this particular case does nothing but contribute to the protection of public health. But the State Police is not a specialized institution for the protection of public health, but other institutions. I think that the local government should allocate large budgets and build institutions for the recovery of these people who have become addicted to drugs, especially strong types of drugs such as cocaine, etc. Some time ago, I saw in the media two or three cases that have died from the use of overdoses, of course the whole world knows this, but the institutions should not remain indifferent and should do their job."

In Gjirokastër there is no such center for people addicted to drugs, but only in Fier, while people addicted to cocaine have difficulties in securing methadone.

Another link in the treatment of drug phenomena is the educational institutions, which work hard in the field of prevention, says Albana Hasanaj, head of the local education office in Gjirokastër.

"I mention here the psycho-social service, which, thanks to the decrease in the number of students per psychologist, gives psychologists the opportunity to conduct individual meetings with students in addition to the sensitization activities developed in schools. Security officers are also a very important link in this chain. Currently, this service is implemented in two gymnasiums in the city of Gjirokastra, taking into account the number of students in the gymnasium, but at the same time the level of risk in these educational institutions. The security officer is the connecting bridge, being a preventer, but also a reporter of all drug-related cases that could happen in educational institutions. Undoubtedly, the student government is also a powerful voice. In most of their thematic activities, the main theme is prevention and the problems brought about by the use, but also the trafficking of narcotics", says Albana Hasanaj.

Experts estimate that while in the country for years no data has been generated by public health institutions on the dimensions of the phenomenon of drug users, the municipalities do very little to treat young people with rehabilitative or integration policies.

In recent years, Albania continues to be on the map of marijuana cultivation, although the phenomenon has been limited, but on the other hand, Albanian drug networks have become more active, especially with the introduction of large quantities of cocaine into the country, which has also spread to the local market, especially among school youth./Voice of America