Hungarian public safety excellent but drugs a problem, says government official
Whereas public safety in Hungary puts the country near the top of European league tables, drugs and drug-related crime threaten to undermine this record, the government’s drugs tsar said at a forum on Saturday.
László Horváth said young people were the chief target of drug dealers and distributors, so decisive action must be taken, noting that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered a crackdown on 1 March.
Police have since launched more than 3,000 criminal proceedings and seized hundreds of kilos of drugs, he said, adding that the availability of drugs on the market has fallen notably and consumption has also decreased as a result. The government commissioner noted that the Fundamental Law outlaws the production, distribution, consumption and promotion of drugs in Hungary.
Regarding the new anti-drug law to be enforced from 15 June, he said drug dealers, distributors and consumers would face “a new situation”, as drug dealers and distributors could be temporarily banned from certain areas to protect the community and their assets confiscated.
Also, the process of defining a drug and its chemical composition would no longer hamper police work since a drug automatically will be classified as a substance that has the effect of a drug, regardless of its chemical composition.
In addition to the police, civic guard associations play a big role in the fight against drugs, he said, adding that the civic guard was “a strategic ally of the government”. András Túrós, president of the National Civic Guard Association, said that Hungary’s 68,000 civic guards had made a big contribution to Hungary’s “balanced public security” last year.
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