I want to raise a question that maybe others have thought about, but not quite brought to the fore. After having read several news articles regarding the cannabis situation in Albania, I see that many issues are raised but not the fundamental ones. It seems that something, some fact or opinion, is swiped under the rug, accidentally or intentionally.
The phenomenon of cannabization of Albania is a sad one, especially for the young generation, because they are the ones to suffer. But cannabis is a product that meets a demand. It is planted according to a plan and not by random pollination of nature’s fluttering creatures. Given that cannabis is produced through a planned-out scheme, my question is: Where is this demand coming from?
Many tons of this substance are caught in the shores of Italian ports, because that’s the entrance door to other countries in Europe. Albania is the supplier, while the demand is supposedly in Europe. With advanced technologies such as drones it is pretty easy to catch the perpetrators on the supply side. But, there is really a question whether they actually want to catch them.
Now, think about this for a minute and let me jump to another issue. And this time the entertainment people are put in the spotlight. The singers, the performers, the artists that so many look up to and copy. Everyone that is in their teen years has an idol, a singer, a performer, an artist whom they love and whose lyrics they sing.
Without naming anyone in specific, how many times have you heard a song, Albanian or foreign, mentioning and displaying openly on the TV screen substances, marijuana and cocaine especially. Why do these “artists” film themselves and sing lyrics that show the use of these drugs? And nobody says anything? But these “artists” continue to be our role models, the people we look up to, the people who influence our lives and our looks and our behaviors.
And when these “artists” sit and give an interview for a TV show, the host never asks them, “Oh, there was smoking and mentioning of drugs in your clip, where did you find those?” Or something like that.
These teenage and young kids will copy them, they will smoke marijuana, whether they are in Albania or not, because it is on TV and YouTube and is apparently cool. Now, let me drop this argument too. Because I am bored of celebrities and their ignorant way of portraying and influencing reality, in Albania especially and around the world as well.
What I want to get to is this, and only this: Let’s have a real talk about drug use. We cannot drop slogans at kids in schools, “Don’t do this, don’t do that” because they are not listening to our morals. Kids in schools want someone who is conscious enough and street smart to show them what is really going on.
I want from professional analysts, who express themselves online or on screen media, to show some courage and offer innovative ideas. Instead of throwing arguments like stones at a window, making a mess, they must become courageous and speak openly about drug use and abuse, because there are multiple sides to the cannabis problem. There are the criminals, the profiteers, the politics, the police, the propaganda, but there are also the kids.
