Cultivation of medical cannabis in Albania, a risk for trafficking by criminal groups

In July 2023, the government led by Prime Minister Edi Rama approved a law allowing the cultivation of medical cannabis and its by-products. This activity, once illegal, will be monitored with strict security measures and regulated by a new government agency.

"The first is the monitoring and control of cannabis that will be cultivated and its by-products/products, for medical and industrial purposes, so we are not talking about all types of cannabis, only those that are licensed and permitted under the law," said the director of the National Agency for Cannabis Control, Linda Pustina, in an interview.

"The second is to assist the licensing commission, for all practices within the framework of product licensing, that is, the licenses that will be granted to companies that will operate in this sector," he added.

According to Pustina, the agency is expected to be the administrator of the database for all licensed companies, as well as provide all information regarding the process.

The global medical cannabis industry was estimated at 13 billion euros in 2023. With its Mediterranean climate and fertile soil, Albania aims to become an important center of medical cannabis production in the region.

But can this industry be properly supervised? Alban Koçi, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Tirana, has his doubts.

"I think it's not the right moment and, as long as Albania has the biggest traffickers in Europe, at least with what is being revealed day by day in the prosecution's investigations, it will be very difficult," he said.

"So, the first risk is that all criminal groups, the cannabis trafficking they carry out today in the territory of Albania, will tomorrow channel it into the streets, so to speak, legally," added Koçi.

Across the border, North Macedonia legalized medical cannabis in 2016, when the country was led by former conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the VMRO-DPMNE party.

Despite increased interest from European companies, the process of distributing licenses for medical cannabis has been criticized for a lack of transparency.

Vasko Magleshov, an investigative journalist and author of an investigation into the cannabis industry, says that the licensing process for medical cannabis in the neighboring country has been accompanied by criticism for a lack of full transparency over the licenses and the companies involved.

“One of the main concerns is the lack of public guidance on what makes a company eligible to receive a license,” he said, adding that there have been reports or allegations that the licensing process has been influenced by political or personal interests.

“There is also a lack of public information about companies applying for licenses,” Magleshov said. “This raises doubts about the integrity of the process ,” he stressed.

Despite the challenges, the cannabis industry in North Macedonia counts over 60 companies, local and international, licensed for the cultivation of medical cannabis.

The Albanian government also believes that medical cannabis could bring an economic boom to the country. But the success of this industry depends on law enforcement, transparency and whether the benefits go to the citizens or just a select few./ BIRN