Cultivating medical cannabis in a legal way in Albania has no risk in terms of security as the government will license, supervise, and control the sector, according to the Deputy interior Minister Julian Hodaj.
The Albanian government recently announced it would move to legalise cannabis for medical cultivation, paving the way for a medicinal cannabis sector, including its cultivation, to be created in Albania.
“It is about controlled areas and security measures. Not everyone can plant it. It will not be planted everywhere in Albania. There will be increased security measures on these planted areas,” he said.
“There is no problem, we are talking about controlled cultivation, there will be licenses for some entities and not everyone can have a license,” Hodaj added.
The minister added that those engaged in such activity will be checked, supervised and must be credible. He said that there would also be a high degree of control over those that access cultivation areas and the surrounding territory, as well as periodic checks by the police.
Concerns have been raised, mainly by the opposition, that legalising the cultivation of cannabis could be problematic considering Albania struggles with the illegal cultivation and export of the drug.
Various areas of the country such as near the Vjosa river in the south, and around the Gashi river in the north, are known to be areas of cultivation.
In the last reported published by the United Nations, Albania ranked as one of the leading countries in Europe for illegal cultivation and distribution of cannabis. It is also a transit country for various other drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
UNDOC Reports Albania Sixth in World for Cultivation and Sale of Cannabis
The US State Departments’ 2022 report on narcotics trafficking makes it clear that Albania remains a source country for narcotics and a base for organised crime groups.
A report for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs looks at a range of countries in the context of drug trafficking and money laundering.
When it comes to drugs, the report states that “Albania is a source country of cannabis and a home base for organised crime groups moving illicit drugs from source countries into European markets.” This includes sending Albanian cannabis to Turkey, which is exchanged for cocaine and heroin that Albanian gangs then smuggle into Europe.
US Department of State: Albania Home Base for Organised Crime in Narcotics Trafficking
However, Hodaj said that “in recent years, we have shown that the Albanian government has shown the fight against cannabis has been won.”
This is despite the fact that Albania is still considered a source country for cannabis. Furthermore, while the amount of cultivation has decreased, much of the operations have simply been exported into Europe where Albanian criminals set up grow houses and farms in European countries.
Much of the money makes its way back to Albania and is laundered into business and real estate.
Furthermore, there are concerns over the ability of the police, authorities, and judiciary to effectively regulate and control the sector.
The recent report from the US State Department was clear that corruption is pervasive in every branch of government and institution, as well as in the police and judiciary.
US State Department Publishes Scathing Report on Human Rights in Albania
