Alarm bells have been ringing in law enforcement for a long time. The drugs in circulation are changing, and changing dangerously. The seizures prove it. This year the Anti-Drugs Unit, YKAN, has recorded a rise in the synthetic drugs it detects, and unfamiliar substances are turning up too.
Much of this is uncharted territory, and it is worrying. Ketamine, captagon pills, “pinaca” papers soaked in cannabis, and poppy: these, we are told, are the latest arrivals on the Cypriot “market”.
According to YKAN, Cyprus has entered a dangerous new era, the age of synthetic drugs. That has spurred the relevant state services into action. They now have to tackle a kind of problem regarded as more dangerous.
Meanwhile, the seizures made by YKAN and other agencies confirm the scale of the problem. Figures published by Phileleftheros show that YKAN has found more than 1,000 kilos of drugs of all kinds this year. The standout trend is the emergence of new substances, while cannabis is in decline.
And those statistics cover only what has been found. Some drugs, obviously, slip through the net. The state’s services may well be doing a very good job, but they cannot work miracles.
The sad truth is that we have a very serious drugs problem. We don’t need statistics to show it, or the authorities to point it out. It is now widely accepted that the drugs problem is already inside the gates, and the fight against it now has to be waged from within.
Play a problem down, as happened in the past, and it will slowly but surely grow into a monster. The authorities’ methods have certainly been strengthened and upgraded. They are more scientific, and that is paying off. Perhaps, as a state, we were slow off the mark. But that is no excuse.
Fresh forms of drugs are emerging. At this stage, we are told, the quantities are small. That, however, gives the authorities a window to step up deterrence.
Still, the obvious bears repeating: it is always results that count, not effort.
