Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that for a more efficient fight against drug traffic and consumption a cross-party plan is needed, taking into account that Romania has begun to register increases in drug consumption compared to a few years ago, many of the cases being among children and youth.
„The big problem – and here we have discussed with doctors a great deal – is that there are synthetic drugs made which are very cheap but also very toxic and dangerous and these substances need to be detected right away, they do not always come up as they are very quickly modified. At the moment the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) is acting and you have seen tens of seizures, some impressive in the drug area. One cannot stay vigilant without a partnership with the local authorities, with the local police. Here we are talking about schools, faculties, everything… especially since we are dealing with children, minors and teenagers. (…) Here we need a plan, as you say, a cross-party one, as after tens of years when Romania has been used as transit country, drugs have slowly but surely beginning to come up,” Marcel Ciolacu told a TV show on Antena 3 private television broadcaster.
The prime minister pointed out that big steps had already been done in respect to combatting the international drug trafficking networks, mentioning in this regard a plan drew up by the Interior Ministry structures in collaboration with foreign partners.
In the same context, he mentioned the importance of scanners that have started to be operated in the customs points.
Ciolacu pointed out that a legislative change is also needed to be able to efficiently manage the activity of recovery centres for drug addicts.
„This activity must be separated from the Interior Ministry. Prevention, as no parent, when they find out their kid is taking drugs, they find it very hard to take their child to the police, as they are thinking of the consequences, and here we must come up with the legislative change. We are talking about children. It is a temptation, I reiterate, it could be an experimental, occasional thing and in the end they become addicted. The important thing is to break this chain,” Ciolacu also said.
AGERPRES
