Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "I extend cordial greetings to the authorities of the participating countries, to the representatives of European institutions and international organizations gathered today at the San Patrignano Community, and, along with them, to the professionals, and to those who have undertaken a recovery process here and are present today with their families. Prevention, treatment, and reintegration have long been among the commitments undertaken at the European and multilateral levels with respect to the urgently pressing issue of addiction."
This was stated by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in the message sent for the opening of the ECAD meeting at San Patrignano.
"It is significant that so many countries and institutions have chosen to come together at the initiative of Italy and France to discuss this issue, responding to a challenge that affects public health, the cohesion of our societies, security, and the very quality of democratic coexistence," added the Head of State. "The criminal networks that organize drug trafficking know no borders.
Rigorously combating them is the duty of every state and the entire international community. The demand for these substances arises, like other forms of addiction—from alcoholism to gambling addictions, to new digital addictions—in social distress, isolation, and fear of the future, especially among younger generations.
“No national system, however effective, is self-sufficient,” continued the Head of State.
Cooperation between countries means, first and foremost, strengthening a shared, constant, and lasting commitment, like the one that characterizes this place. Here, as in many therapeutic communities, public services, and volunteer associations across Europe that work alongside schools and families, recovery work takes place daily, through the work, training, solidarity, and patience of those who accompany people on a difficult journey.
"The Republic's gratitude goes to all those in Italy and abroad who are engaged in this valuable work, as well as in international cooperation in combating drug trafficking and other criminal activities. With these hopes, I extend my best wishes to all participants for their success," Mattarella concluded.
"We have a duty to deploy all our determination to fight all drugs and to stamp out the illegal trafficking that fuels addictions and enslaves people for money. This is why we are here at San Patrignano. Just over a year ago, Copenhagen, Italy, and France—and I would also like to extend my and your greetings to President Emmanuel Macron, whom I thank—proposed to their partners in the European Political Community the creation of the European Coalition against Drugs. This was not a declaration of intent like so many others, but an operational platform with a clear objective: to combat by all means a threat that knows no borders and that no nation can effectively combat alone. The response from our partners has been very encouraging, and today the coalition can count on the membership and contributions of 35 nations," said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, opening the meeting at San Patrignano.
"Then six months ago," the Prime Minister continued, "we met again in Yerevan, Armenia, and on that occasion we jointly defined the three lines of intervention on which we would focus our efforts. The first is the fight against trafficking, starting with sea trafficking, where approximately 80% of the drugs entering Europe illegally pass. We decided to strengthen port security, to better coordinate our presence at sea, and also to combat the new means of trafficking. The second line is the attack on traffickers' assets, following the brilliant intuition of two extraordinary Italian Anti-Mafia magistrates, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who taught us that if you can defeat a criminal organization, the first thing you have to do is 'follow the money,' meaning you have to follow the money, trace the flow of money, and therefore more seizures, confiscations, and greater financial cooperation, including on cryptocurrencies. The third pillar of our commitment is the one that brought us here today: it is the one linked to prevention, treatment, and recovery policies, because even in this area, When it comes to drugs, we are facing an epochal change. Today's drugs are no longer those of 30, 40, 50 years ago, when a great Italian like Vincenzo Muccioli generously and courageously founded this reality."
"Today's drugs are very different. They're more powerful, cheaper, more accessible, and in some cases even socially accepted. Synthetic substances are changing much faster than our laws can keep up with them," the Prime Minister explained. "Thanks to artificial intelligence, new narcotic molecules are being released onto the market, enjoying a period of free circulation before being intercepted by the police, classified as narcotics, and placed on the schedule that makes them illegal. Cannabis derivatives, which some still irresponsibly insist on calling soft drugs, have a THC percentage, i.e., the active ingredient, that is, on average 30 times higher than a few decades ago, and the age of first use is increasingly lower, and the prevalence among minors is endemic."
"Italy" is "valuing the most successful experiences and best practices, which we are here today to make available to all our partners. We have provided the national system against addiction with the most substantial resources ever, over €210 million in 2026 alone. This has allowed us to hire new staff in public services, provide concrete support to therapeutic communities, guarantee those seeking help the freedom to choose the most suitable treatment plan for them, even when away from home. We have strengthened the national drug early warning system, which identifies new substances and consumption patterns before they become an emergency, and provides the relevant agencies with crucial information for response."
"Two years ago at the United Nations, we offered our partners the opportunity to share this experience, and a month ago, together with the European Drug Agency, we welcomed experts from seven partner nations to Rome to share this model," the Prime Minister added. "Prevention also means knowing how to act before a threat erupts, and that's why I want to emphasize that we were the first in Europe to develop a national plan against the misuse of fentanyl and synthetic opioids. We informed and trained staff, made antidotes available, and today we are also strengthening controls on the storage of these substances, especially in hospitals and healthcare facilities, so that they don't end up in illegal channels and turn thousands of people into zombies."
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