Shocking news out of Albania this morning as the Albanian Police claim to have seized and destroyed 2.4 million ganja trees since June of 2016. Let me repeat that to let it soak in — 2.4 million cannabis plants.
Three years ago, Albanian government made fighting black-market cannabis a priority, but in 2016 the police force confiscated four times more cannabis than in 2015. Since June alone, Albanian police have stomped on a total of 540 acres of fragrant buds.
An Albanian media source estimated these 2.4 million plants were worth about $3.3 billion dollars. This unfathomable amount of cannabis is equal to one-third of Albania’s gross domestic product. How the world’s 96th ranked country in terms of GDP can part with $3.3 billion in homegrown revenue is a question without a satisfying answer.
Police Chief, Haki Cako, announced that 248 people have been arrested since this June for cultivating and distributing an illegal substance. Cako believes most of the product was en route to Italy, Greece, Kosovo, and Montenegro.
Prior to the country’s police force and government saying enough is enough, Albania was a major cannabis producer for all of Europe. A small village called Lazarat was one of the cultivation hotspots of Albania for decades — producing about 900 tons of marijuana per year. This brought in over $4.5 billion annually for the country, fueling local communities with jobs and revenue. While the government had been letting it slide for the most part, in 2014 they had a drastic change of heart and sent 800 officers to the small village of Lazarat. The raid led to a bloody five-day shootout and the destruction of Albania’s cannabis capital.
Those who have been arrested, if found guilty, face five to ten years in prison.
