Author: Klevis Paloka
The 308 Albanians who positively evaluated the legalization of cannabis were said to be decisive in convincing the government that it should once again review the issue of cultivating the narcotic plant for medicinal purposes. Through a National Consultation form, the key question was as follows: There are people who say that Albania should allow state-controlled cultivation, processing and export of cannabis for medical purposes, without legalizing it for personal use. Others say that cannabis should not be allowed even for medical purposes, what do you think?
61 percent of the surveyed citizens answered positively, while 29 percent of the 563.195 citizens said "no". But this apparent survey of the government, which comes eight years after the former socialist MP Koço Kokëdhima, was the first to throw out this thesis by opening a debate to which the government during 2014 and a year after it had taken power, responded with a firm position where it was declared that the planting of drugs.
Former MP Kokëdhima says that he stands by his thesis, while emphasizing that now this type of activity is growing rapidly in the world.
"I definitely stand by the thesis I made 8 years ago. Even now, seeing how this type of activity is developing in the world and the help it gives to the economy, we should legalize it as soon as possible.", says former MP Kokëdhima for "Sinjalizo", who adds that the legalization of medical cannabis will also help to reduce the illegal cultivation of cannabis.
But for the prime minister, apart from the number of citizens who accept legalization, the determining factor seems to be the impact on the economy.
"We will proceed as the citizens express, we will absolutely legalize cannabis for medical use and we will open a new front of work and economic growth, in addition to technological growth. There is no doubt about that", he said Prime. But despite the continuous interest of "Sinjalizo", no one made available the draft law in question, which in reality, as soon as it is prepared, must be urgently distributed to interest groups and actors, including the most interested party, the State Police, the General Prosecutor's Office , the Ministry of Health and civil society.
Does cannabis liberalization affect the economy?
But whether the liberalization of cannabis with the argument of economic growth is the right answer is given by the economic expert Zef Preçi, who emphasizes from the beginning of the conversation that this initiative does not bring any good to the country. With the consideration that all this is an offense against those who deal with criminal activity, Preçi adds that "if this step is taken, it is understood that the oligarchic circles, the clientelistic businessmen of the government, may have the necessary laboratories and facilities ready, but that brings dangerous consequences to the national economy. It is by no means a development tool", insists Preçi for "Signalizo".
But on the other hand, the economic expert predicts that in the conditions of a global economic and food crisis, the government should encourage the cultivation of every square meter of land. As for the legalization for planting medicinal cannabis, Preçi is firm and declares that Albania does not fulfill any of the conditions.
"Let's not forget the other thing that medical cannabis basically makes sense when in countries that have large areas of land, countries that have a functioning rule of law, and countries that have strict police control of activities that are on the border of the law, countries that have a pharmaceutical system developed that both produces and controls, all of Canada has only 50 pharmacies that offer cannabis for medical purposes, and countries that have a large number of consumers. Albania does not meet any of the conditions, except for the natural conditions suitable for any type of plant, including criminal plants, medicinal plants and at the same time, the developments in the world economy are such that even the countries that have tried are too late because any type liberalization in the countries where the state operates, 30 states in the USA, there are also 29 other states in the EU countries and other countries of the world, but which have greatly reduced the price and made production discouraging", concludes the head of the Albanian Center for Economic Research, Zef Preçi.
Is medicine ready?
The list of diseases that are cured and treated by medical cannabis is long, including not only tumor but also epilepsy, glaucoma, arthritis, allergy or multiple sclerosis.
Ana, from Ura-Vajgurore, but who now lives in Tirana, tells "Sinjalizo" that she heard about cannabis oil 10 years ago, when she needed this product. The 30-year-old says that she needed it for her parents who were suffering from cancer, while due to the distrust of those who sold this product illegally, she made the cannabis oil herself.
"About the cannabis oil I heard about 10 years ago from my relatives, who are pharmacists by profession, but also from the readings I did on the Internet about its curative properties, although I had the skepticism inside me. I along with the knowledge and approval of my parents thought to use it for its curative properties. At the time when we made this decision, both my parents were suffering from cancer and of course, feeling hopeful to try everything with the thought that I will be able to help in their recovery, I tried to produce cannabis oil in large quantities small, for the use of my parents. I got interested by asking how this oil is made, and they told me that 1 kg of dried cannabis plant is needed, as well as pure alcohol (I don't remember the percentage of alcohol, but it seems to me that it was 70%), and to benefit from this oil, it had to be boiled in heat not high, until the mass of alcohol evaporates and at the end a sticky black substance remains. I also read yes again on the internet about the use being that it was a very concentrated essence, and the use was to take the amount of half a "grain of rice" for just once a day, to soothe the pains the parents had from the disease. My parents tried it, but my father couldn't handle it in the advanced stage of the cancer and it was hallucinating, so I stopped it for both of them.", Ana confesses to "Sinjalizo", while emphasizing that 1 kg of cannabis was bought for about 300 Lek.
According to the official data of the Institute of Statistics in Albania, 2020 people lost their lives from tumor disease in 3589.
Professor Doctor, Zihni Sulaj, who has also been the head of the Toxicology Service at the "Mother Teresa" University Hospital Center, lists some of the dangers that this legalization will bring while making a comparison with America.
"America, for years, has been suffering a great drama of abuse of substances that are prescribed by doctors, that are in the non-cannabis group, because cannabis products 2-3 are, because it is not legalized in all states, but this has led to the fact that in 2019-2020, there were 100 deaths in America from overdoses, from prescription opiates, for pain, for various indications, but which have passed into the black market, and which are used by users of drugs, I said this to make an analogy with cannabis products, they will be sold in pharmacies with a prescription, this may happen because even with cannabis many individuals can become addicted, as it is known that they find ways to buy even without indications medical cannabis, it will also create a multitude of patients who are addicted, not necessarily to cannabis, but who will be abused and addicted.
The problems that can be caused by the legalization of cannabis are: adolescent addiction, loss of cognitive functions and knowledge of progress in school, road accidents due to the event of means in the effect of cannabis, some pulmonary diseases because cannabis is usually smoked together with tobacco . If used by pregnant women, there are problems in the fetus in the future child and above all it promotes aggression, theft, violence and other social problems that add to the costs.", says for "Signalizo", Prof. Dr. Sulaj.
According to Dr. Sulajt, Albania currently does not have the right infrastructure to take this step.
"Albania does not have the right infrastructure at the moment, the problem is that a lot of changes need to be made in the legislation, the problem is good - the administration of the product, where it will be cultivated, where it will be transported, where it will be sold, where it will be exported, they are all one a series of measures to be foreseen and I believe that the government has thought of all of them", concludes the interview, Sulaj, who emphasizes at the end that before taking this step, the problems caused by the abuse of psychotropic substances such as tranquilizers, sleeping pills and others that are consumed to a considerable extent and have created addiction in the population should also be looked at.
What about security?
According to the professor of Criminology, Ervin Karamuço, Albania is listed in international reports as one of the main countries on the continent for the cultivation of cannabis sativa. He also states that Albania is not ready, as it does not have specialized technical resources.
"Albania is listed in international reports as one of the main countries on the continent for the cultivation and illegal trafficking of cannabis sativa. This comes not only from reasons related to the increased criminal trends in this area, but also from a weak control over the territory by the law enforcement bodies for reasons related to insufficient capacities and corruption. The latest State Department report described the State Police as having major problems with the influence of organized crime. Due to these reasons, Albania does not have the specialized technical and human resources, as well as the institutional integrity to guarantee a legalization with rigorous safety protocols for medical cannabis indica (CBD). Experience so far has shown that the two previous medical legalization initiatives have been understood by organized crime as an opportunity to increase their illegal activity in this area, setting records in international cultivation and trafficking.", says for "Sinjalizo", Karamuço.
The professor further adds that the fact that the countries of the region have failed in similar initiatives should also be looked at, while it is difficult to compete alongside the world's major producers.
"Countries in the region such as Croatia and North Macedonia have failed in similar initiatives, as in addition to abusing the lack of strict control, they have not calculated the profitability in a European market where there is a huge overproduction and competition. I would be very curious to get acquainted with a market study and business plan of all those companies that will be engaged in our country in the future for the purposes of cultivation and medical processing of cannabis. This is because I want to understand the true goals and arguments of their involvement in this type of business. It should be mentioned that alongside the largest European producers led by Britain and the global ones led by Canada and China, another country with great potential like Morocco approved the legalization of medical cannabis in May of last year. I think this development will be another challenge on the continent for any country that intends to be newly involved in this type of profitable activity.", concludes the professor of criminology.
In fact, the drug legalization model was applied in 2016 in Macedonia.
According to the data provided by "Sinjalizo", from 2018 to September 2021, 61 companies were registered for the processing of cannabis oil. Last year, two of these companies had their licenses revoked for violating the law, while another 20 companies are awaiting licensing.
What do police experts say?
Arben Hajdarmataj, one of the police officials who is no longer part of it, lists the reasons against the initiative.
"Regarding the capacities of the police, I do not think that the capacities are both in terms of logistics and human capacity, but is it possible for the police to fight the phenomenon of planting and trafficking of cannabis, I would say that there is no possibility, first because the people who will be equipped with licenses will be people closely connected to politics, while the rest will be people connected to the world of crime, the second, with regret, we have to say that we have police officers who are tired of cultivation and trafficking of narcotics and that licensing only gives them one more opportunity for this criminal activity.
I think that as a country in terms of institutions we are not prepared for the legalization of hashish, but also as a society we are not prepared. The reasons are various, such as the control institutions such as the police are powerless to channel medical cannabis and in most cases are corrupt and the criminal groups involved in the cultivation and trafficking of this substance would benefit, as well and the Ministry of Health or whoever will grant the licenses for this activity will be prone to corruption and worse still will license people with criminal records and in the field of money laundering", says the former head of the police for "Sinjalizo".
immediately STRATEGY against Organized Crime and Serious Crimes for the years 2021-2025, states that the priority will be the fight against cannabis, as well as a law will be made to update prohibited psychoactive substances.
While the lawyer Denisa Daka says that the legalization of cannabis will bring a set of damages to the young people, so even without legalization, the criminal courtrooms are filled with minors and young people who are accused of being drug users.
"Meanwhile, in the "Criminal Chambers" of the courts of all judicial districts, minors and young people, accused of being "users of narcotics" or "selling and distributing narcotics", come to be tried day after day, while the cells are already overflowing.
Seen in this context, the legalization of cannabis will likely be a potential risk, while from the use of such drugs, a set of damages will be produced for young people or minors.", writes lawyer Daka.
Unknown number of users
And while the government will legalize cannabis for medical use, the facts show that the users of these plants have increased recently. But officially there is no data on the trend of age groups that use marijuana, nor their number. However, according to a one-year monitoring carried out by the "Fol" Center in the capital, 63% of the total number of those criminally prosecuted by the State Police are drug users.
"The citizens were found to be in possession of the narcotic substance hashish, of a small amount for personal use, while the locations where they were found by the law enforcement forces are: Aviation Field, "Panorama e Liqeni" street, "Njazi Meka" street ( Allias area), Don Bosko, "Grigor Heba" street (near Dinamo Stadium), etc", mentioned in report of the "Fol" Center.
