The newly appointed chief of the Albanian State Police, Gledis Nano, has announced that all police officers will undergo drug testing.
The process started with 20 officers from Elbasan being sent for analysis to see if they are regular users of drugs or have used them recently. This will then be rolled out throughout the State Police ranks nationwide.
Announcing the drug test before them being taken could, however, give officers advanced warning. A standard urine test can detect drugs that are taken once in the last three days, daily users between 10-15 days, and heavy users up to 30 days. Drugs stay in the bloodstream, on average, for less than the urine, although results are somewhat inconsistent.
Hair follicle tests can show traces of drugs for between 90 days and one year, depending on where the hair is taken from.
The tests will be done by Intermedica and will be repeated periodically, according to the announcement from Nano.
Intermedica has long been a beneficiary of state concessions and tenders. Most recently, at the Tirana Marathon, every participant was required to pay for a COVID-19 test before the race, but only from Intermedica.
It was also one of the first laboratories authorized by the government to conduct COVID-19 PCR tests. They set the price at the start of the pandemic at around EUR 150.
