Illegal cannabis economy, what will legalization bring to Albania

Investments in the cultivation process, from seeds to cultivars, have increased production in less area. Cultivation has been diversified in homes and greenhouses, to avoid losses from police action, and the processing chain has increased investment in laboratories producing oil and chocolate by-products. Indirect estimates show that cannabis groups are maintaining revenues of over 1 billion euros per year, reducing production area and increasing productivity. Illegal cannabis contributes about 10% of GDP and provides jobs for about 20,000 people a year. Medical cannabis legal businesses are likely to compete on the black market. How the economic model and human capital are affecting the cannabis economy

With an unusual seriousness in clothing, with black tuxedo and red collar, the Prime Minister of the country, Edi Rama, announced in front of journalists in the Prime Minister’s Hall on April 7, 2022 the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes.

The decision came after a National Counseling poll, where 61% of respondents agreed to cultivate cannabis, in order to open a new work front and economic growth in Albania.

At the same time, perhaps the most modern greenhouses in Europe for the cultivation of recreational cannabis have been set up in the hills and mountains of the country, which has become the most developed branch of real agriculture and contributes with an annual income of almost 10% of GDP. of the national and employs about 20 thousand people a year.

It is a fact that all over the world, the interest of pharmaceutical companies to include cannabis for medical treatments has increased. According to Forecast Market data, the global value of cannabis for medical purposes is expected to reach 16.4 billion this year, while by 2027 it will triple, over 46 billion dollars.

Countries around the world have stepped up efforts to legalize cultivation and use for medical purposes, but businesses in this area are facing difficulties.

Ophelia Chong, a consultant to businesses growing legal cannabis in California, told Britain’s The Guardian newspaper that “for now, the only way for state-licensed legal businesses to be profitable is to keep a foothold in illegal, unlicensed market ”.

Artan Hoxha, an experienced journalist in the chronicle sector and well acquainted with the process of cultivating narcotic plants, told “Monitor” that every time our government talks about the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, it translates into a “permit” for expansion. of areas planted with recreational cannabis on the black market, although it has nothing to do with cultivars for medicinal purposes and those grown in Albania.

Businesses will benefit if cannabis is legalized for recreational purposes, as Albania has 30 years of experience and has created a workforce with extensive knowledge in this field.

From year to year, the productivity of the cannabis business is increasing, said Hoxha, due to the sophistication of investments in greenhouses, the use of high technology and the selection of seeds and cultivars with high market value.

Foreign exchange inflows from illegal cannabis exports have contributed to filling the foreign exchange gap created by the trade deficit, becoming the main contributor to the current balance and exchange rate stability. On the other hand, these revenues have distorted the model of sustainable development in the country, as they are mainly concentrated in the construction sector, preventing the economy from expanding into innovative sectors.

Former Minister of Agriculture, Rexhep Uka, described as suspicious the initiative of cultivating cannabis for medical purposes, as an economic development policy, at a time when traditional agriculture still has large untapped areas. “We really reached the peak in traditional agriculture and now we have cannabis left ?!

E para, viz. Traditional agriculture, although with very little income, is much healthier because there is work inside! Its social aspect has its roots here 10,000 years ago, while that of cannabis is like ‘holding on to the foam’, a ‘pyramid scheme’, where neither the traditional rural nor the modern family has a place. This product is a botanical species, which has its own technology, which is treated by phytotechnics “, said Mr. Uka.

Massive cannabis cultivation across the country in recent years has severely damaged human capital. Genci Muçollari runs “Aksion Plus”, a center that provides assistance to drug users. He said that in 1995, the number of people aged 15-65, who have tried at least one type of drug was about 5,000, while in 2022, in Albania, there are about 60 thousand drug users, where about 7- 8 thousand are considered problematic consumers of serious and dangerous drugs.

“Aksion Plus” data show that from 2017 to 2022, the number of mainly cannabis users has increased by 50%, reaching 60 thousand people from 40 thousand five years ago. Illegal cannabis activities make up nearly a third of the inmates in the country, while accounting for about 10% of criminal cases, according to official data.

The young population is being criminalized

Lured by high profits, young men tend to get involved in cannabis cultivation and trade, due to highly competitive wages with other sectors. High profits in the black market trade are also accompanied by high risk. Many young people involved in cannabis cultivation and transportation fall prey to police actions for engaging in illegal activity.

INSTAT statistics show that 10% of criminal proceedings from 2015 to 2020 were related to drugs, mainly cannabis activity. There are plenty of cases where police have arrested elderly women, as they have seen work on cannabis plots as the only means of livelihood. Data from prisons show that one in three convicts has cannabis links. The cultivation of this plant paves the way for the structuring of crime and its export abroad.

In recent years, Albanian groups in the UK have begun recruiting young people from Albania. British media report that, they take over the costs of illegal passage in Britain which now costs about 25 thousand pounds a person. Recruits will cover the cost of crossing, working a year free of charge in homes where cannabis is grown or used to sell drugs in retail markets.

Because of higher earnings than from manual labor, thousands of young people are choosing to leave Britain in the face of high costs and great risk to life. INSTAT reported that last year, over 43 thousand people left the country, where 50% of them were young people under the age of 24./Blerina Hoxha / Monitor.al

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