Fighting drugs and pathological addictions is a top priority of this Government. Ever since coming to office, we have been working, with perseverance and determination, to reiterate a number of clear messages that have been forgotten for too long: drugs destroy people’s lives, enslaving them and making them powerless; all drugs, without distinction, are harmful and to claim otherwise is deception, with this particularly affecting the younger generations; the Government and institutions, at all levels, must not look the other way, but must rather do everything in their power to combat drug trafficking and dealing, invest in prevention, and support public services and treatment communities in their irreplaceable work to provide care and rehabilitation.
The Government has focused on prevention and has promoted several communication campaigns, such as the one currently being broadcast by RAI. Italy is one of the first nations in Europe to launch a comprehensive plan against the spread of fentanyl, and has also introduced new instruments to fund measures in this area, including the possibility for citizens to opt for their ‘8xmille’ IRPEF [personal income tax] allocation to be directly managed by the state.
We still have a lot of work to do in order to address an emergency that has been ignored or underestimated for too long, but there is now a step change and we are at the forefront to consolidate it and make it structural in nature, through the teamwork between the Department for Drug Policies, the ‘Ser.D’ addiction support service, communities and scientific organisations.
[Courtesy translation]