Blakaj: Alarmingly high number of young people in Kosovo using marijuana and cocaine

The Director of the Specialized Psychiatric Center "Labyrinth," Safet Blakaj, says that Kosovo has seen an increase in drug users over the past three years, with a particularly concerning rise in the use of cocaine and its derivatives among young people.

"Up until three years ago, we believed we were in a somewhat better position compared to our neighbors, both Serbia and Macedonia. We were on the same level as Montenegro and in a much better situation than Albania. Albania and Serbia had a similar situation, but now we know that Albania is facing significant drug-related problems. However, the situation has changed over the past three years. I believe we can now compare ourselves to Serbia in terms of having roughly the same problem and the same rising trend of drug addiction," Blakaj told Kosovo Online.

It is estimated that there are around 40,000 drug users in Kosovo, of which, he notes, approximately 12,000 to 13,000 are addicts.

"We call them ‘problematic drug users,’" Blakaj said.

He warns that Kosovo has been facing a troubling increase in the use of cocaine and its derivatives, particularly among young people, over the past two years.

"Trends are changing, but over the last four years, especially the past two, there has been a rapid increase in cocaine use among young people. We have a serious cocaine problem in Kosovo. Of course, marijuana remains one of the most widely used drugs in Kosovo, as it is in the region. But what concerns us the most is cocaine, especially its method of use, crack cocaine. The difference is that crack cocaine causes addiction very quickly, increases aggression in users, and has other harmful effects on the body," Blakaj emphasizes.

He explains that cocaine is also the most expensive drug, with a gram costing around 80 euros.

"We don't know how pure it is or what its quality is, but we do know that its price has remained unchanged over the past seven to eight years, which is very unusual. Meanwhile, cannabis was much cheaper before, but its price has now increased, as has the price of ecstasy," Blakaj notes.