Author: Klevis Paloka
The 308 Albanians who positively assessed 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 form of the National Consultation, the question was as follows: There are people who say that Albania should allow the cultivation, processing and state-controlled export of cannabis for medical purposes, without legalizing it for personal use. Others say that cannabis should not even be allowed 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 put forward 8 years ago. Even now, seeing how this type of activity is developing in the world and the help it provides to the economy, we too should legalize it as soon as possible ," former MP Kokëdhima told "Sinjalizo", adding that the legalization of medical cannabis will also help reduce illegal cannabis cultivation.
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 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 growth in the technological aspect. There is no dilemma about this ," said the Prime Minister . But despite the continued interest of "Sinjalizo", no one made available the draft law in question, which in reality, as soon as it is prepared, should be urgently distributed to groups and stakeholders, 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 one is answered by economic expert Zef Preçi, who underlines at the beginning of the conversation that this initiative does not bring any good to the country. Considering that all this is a wink towards those who engage in criminal activity, Preçi adds that " if this step is taken, it is understood that the oligarchic circles, the government's clientelistic businessmen, can have the necessary laboratories and facilities ready, but that it brings dangerous disruptions to the national economy. It is by no means a development tool ," Preçi insists for "Sinjalizo".
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 essentially makes sense when in countries that have large land areas, countries that have a functional legal state, and countries that have strict police control of activities that are on the edge of the law, countries that have a developed pharmaceutical system that both produces and controls, the whole 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 natural conditions suitable for any type of plant, including criminal plants, medicinal plants and at the same time, in the developments in the world conjuncture are such that even the countries that have attempted are too late because any kind of liberalization in countries where the state functions, 30 countries in the USA, there are also 29 other countries in the EU countries and other countries of the world, but they have greatly reduced the price and have discouraged production ", concludes the director 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.
" I heard about cannabis oil about 10 years ago from my relatives, who are pharmacists by profession, but also from reading on the internet about its healing properties, although I was skeptical. Together with the knowledge and approval of my parents, I thought of using it for its healing properties. At the time we made this decision, both my parents were suffering from cancer and of course, feeling hopeful about trying everything with the thought that I would be able to help them heal, I tried to produce cannabis oil in a very small amount, for my parents' use. I became 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 obtain this oil, it had to be boiled over low heat, until the alcohol mass evaporated and finally it would to remain a sticky black substance. I also read again on the internet about its use, since it was a very concentrated essence, and the use was to take half a "grain of rice" just once a day, to soothe the pain that my parents had from the disease. My parents tried it, but my father could not cope with the advanced stage of cancer that he had and was giving hallucinations, so I stopped both of them , "Ana tells "Sinjalizo", while emphasizing that she bought 1kg of cannabis for about 300 thousand 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 has been suffering for years from a great drama of abuse of substances prescribed by doctors, which are in the non-cannabis group, because cannabis products are 2-3, because it is not legalized in all states, but this has led to 100 thousand deaths in America from overdoses, from opiates prescribed by prescription, for pain, for various indications, but which have passed to the black market, and which are used by drug users, I said this to take as an analogy with cannabis products, they will be sold in pharmacies with a prescription, this may happen that many individuals can become addicted to cannabis, as it is known that they find ways to buy medical cannabis even without indications, and it will create a multitude of addicted patients, not necessarily to cannabis, but who will be abused and addicted.
The problems that the legalization of cannabis can cause are: addiction in adolescents, loss of cognitive functions and knowledge of progress in school, road accidents due to the occurrence of vehicles under the influence 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 increase the costs , "said Prof. Dr. Sulaj for "Sinjalizo".
According to Dr. Sulajt, Albania currently does not have the right infrastructure to take this step.
" Albania does not currently have the right infrastructure, the problem is that many changes need to be made to the legislation, the problem is the good administration of the product, where it will be cultivated, where it will be transported, where it will be sold, where it will be exported, there are all a series of measures to be foreseen and I believe that the government has thought of everything", concludes Sulaj, who emphasizes at the end that before taking this step, the problems that have been brought about 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 must 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 increased criminal trends in this field, but also from a weak control over the territory by law enforcement agencies for reasons related to insufficient capacities and corruption. The latest report by the State Department described the State Police as having major problems with the influence of organized crime. Due to these reasons, Albania does not have specialized technical and human resources, as well as institutional integrity to guarantee a legalization with rigorous security protocols for cannabis indica for medical purposes (CBD). Experiences so far have shown that the two previous medical legalization initiatives have been understood by organized crime as an opportunity to increase their illegal activity in this field, setting records in international cultivation and trafficking ," Karamuço told "Sinjalizo".
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 overproduction and great competition. I would be very curious to get acquainted with a market study and business plan of all those companies that will engage in our country in the future for the purposes of cultivating and processing medical cannabis. This is because I want to understand the real goals and arguments of their involvement in this type of business. It should be mentioned that in addition to the largest European producers led by Britain and the global ones led by Canada and China, another country with very 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 newly engage in this type of profitable activity ," concludes the criminology professor.
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 police's capacities, I don't think the capacities are in terms of logistics and human capacity, but is it possible for the police to combat the phenomenon of cannabis cultivation and trafficking? I would say that it is not possible, firstly because the people who will be issued licenses will be people closely connected to politics, while the rest will be people connected to the criminal world, secondly, we must say with regret that we have police officers who are tired of cultivating and trafficking narcotics and that licensing only gives them more opportunity for this criminal activity.
"I think that as a state 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 very different, as control institutions such as the police are not powerful enough to channel cannabis for medicine and in most cases are corrupt and criminal groups that deal with the cultivation and trafficking of this substance would benefit, likewise the Ministry of Health or whoever will issue 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 ," the former police chief said to "Sinjalizo".
Meanwhile, the Strategy against Organized Crime and Serious Crime for the years 2021-2025 emphasizes that the fight against cannabis will be a priority, and a law will be enacted 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 come to be tried day after day, accused of being "drug users" or "selling and distributing narcotics", while the cells are already overcrowded.
"Viewed in this context, the legalization of cannabis will likely be a potential risk, while the use of such drugs will cause a set of harms 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 a small quantity of the narcotic substance hashish for personal use, while the locations where they were found by the law enforcement agencies are: Aviation Field, "Panorama e Liqeni" Street, "Njazi Meka" Street (Allias area), Don Bosko, "Grigor Heba" Street (near Dinamo Stadium), etc. ," the report of the "Fol" Center mentions.
