Alarm: Albania, with higher use of cocaine in the world

Albania turns out to be the country that has the world's highest annual cocaine use priority, according to an interactive United Nations Drug and Crime Office project (UNODC), under the annual 2017 Drug Report, recently published.

According to the map, for the use of cocaine, the annual privacy of use for Albania was 2.5%, for data referred to 2014 and for age groups of 15.64. This is the highest of all countries reported by UNODC.

After Albania, the best cocaine use is for the United States of America, with a 2.3% break. Then there are United Kingdom states (Scocia 2.34%, England and Wales, 2.25%. Spain is third in Europe, with a 2.2% interval. There is a high use of cocaine in Australia (2.1%), Uruguay (1.8%), Chile (1.73%). Interestingly, Colombia, one of the largest producers, has a low rate of 0.7%.

For users of hashish, Albania has a 5.6 (the same data in 2014), which is generally lower than most Western European countries, but the highest in the region. The record in Europe keeps Czechia at 11.4%, followed by France with 11.1%, Italy and Spain at 9.2%, the Netherlands at 8%. In the world, the biggest users of hashish are in the United States of America, with annual prevales of 16.5% and Canada at 14.3%.

Albania has a low use of amphetamine (0.1%), where the highest level in the region is found in Bulgaria and Croatia (mainly 0.65% and 1%), while the record in Europe holds the Netherlands and Germany, with 1.3 and 1.1% respectively.

Ecstasy is also used less in Albania (0.2%) compared to other countries in the region, such as Bulgaria (1.2%) Montenegro (0.9%), Bosnia (0.5%).

The report estimates that a total of 246 million people, or 1 in 20 persons between the ages of 15 and 64, has used illegal drugs during 2013. This marks an increase of 3 million during the past year, but because of the increase in the world's population, the rate of use of illegal drugs has actually remained stable.

The size of the world's drug problem becomes more evident when more than 1 out of 10 drug users is problematic, suffering from drug - use disorders, or addiction. In other words, some 27 million people - or almost the entire population of one Malaysian size - have problems using drugs. Almost half (12.2 million) of users have injected drugs, and it is estimated that 1.65 million of those who inject drugs had HIV in 2013.

This poses a heavy burden on public health systems in terms of prevention, treatment and care for drug users' disorders and their health consequences. Only one out of every six drug users has access to treatment, as many countries have a huge lack of service delivery. The annual number of drug - related deaths (valued at 187,100 in 2013) has remained relatively unchanged. An unacceptable number of drug users continue to lose their lives prematurely, often as a result of an overdose, even though overdosive deaths are preventable.

Alarm, drugs in Albania are using young people

In “The Annual Global Drug Report” for 2017, published on June 23rd, according to publication, divided of five expanded chapters, Albania, as never before in previous reports, is mentioned at almost all as one of the key countries in trafficking, the production of cannabis grass, and even the use of strong psychotic substances by young people. Albania is also one of the countries with strong evidence in including organised crime groups in trafficking in heroin, cocaine and cannabis

Albania is mentioned not only in trafficking but also in production. “The main cases of cannabis grass in Europe are within the region, especially the Netherlands and Albania, although Europol has identified Czechia as an important distribution knot for the cannabis bar trafficked to neighbouring states”, it is said in this chapter.

Albania is also the first distribution point for the cannabis bar coming from Afghanistan.

In addition to production and trafficking, the report sounds the alarm that narcotics is being used extensively by young Albanians. In chapter “The analysis of the synthetic drugs market-type amphetamine stimulants, new psychoactive substances”, when it comes to using new psychoactive substances, reports that Albanian boys, more than girls have reported their use.