CGO: Urgent action is needed to suppress the availability of narcotics near schools

Urgent action is needed in Montenegro to combat the availability of narcotics near schools, said the Center for Civic Education (CGO).

Marlena Ivanović, a program associate at CGO, said that this non-governmental organization recently submitted an initiative to the Police Directorate to process cases of the sale of psychoactive substances in the immediate vicinity of educational institutions.

Those cases, as Ivanovic stated in the press release, were recorded by CGO activists, in the form of advertising material with QR codes with catalogs and contacts for purchasing psychoactive substances.

"CGO emphasizes that advertising material with this content in the vicinity of educational institutions carries a serious risk of students becoming victims of illegal drug trafficking," Ivanovic said.

She pointed out that this is problematic considering that, according to relevant research, young people represent a particularly vulnerable category when it comes to exposure to psychoactive substances.

Ivanovic said that CGO is concerned about the increased availability of these substances to young people and their impact on the health and safety of students.

"Posting advertising materials with the above content indicates that drug dealers have become emboldened when they directly violate legal regulations in this way, or that they have protection in institutions for such illegal activity," Ivanovic said.

As she said, the distribution of psychoactive substances among young people can have catastrophic consequences for their health, education and social life, so combating such phenomena must be a priority for all social actors.

Ivanovic said that CGO believes that it is crucial that competent institutions take all necessary measures to prevent the spread and sale of these dangerous substances, especially in an environment that should be safe for children and young people.

"We call on decision-makers and competent authorities to urgently investigate such cases and take all necessary measures in order to identify and sanction the responsible persons, but also citizens to react and report them to the competent authorities if they notice them, in order to contribute to a healthier environment for young people through joint action" , concluded Ivanovic.