Hungary Takes Drug Crimes Seriously, unlike the West, Says New Commissioner

“There are many types of drugs, but all drugs are poison,” László Horváth told Magyar Nemzet in Saturday’s interview. The Government Commissioner responsible for the eradication of drug trafficking also said that authorities face many challenges in this fight. The politician stressed that anyone who distributes, consumes, or produces drugs will be ruthlessly dealt with. László Horváth also spoke about the need to reform drug rehabilitation.

László Horváth’s main objective is to work to eradicate drug trafficking. His job includes making proposals to the government and the coordination of the activities of the authorities involved in this matter. “There are many types of drugs, but all drugs are poison. Therefore we cannot and do not want to make a distinction. We cannot differentiate because there is no such thing as a good drug or a bad drug,” said the politician.

One of our most important tasks right now is to take extremely firm action against the drug traffickers in highly infested areas. These dealers want to make a living by selling poison to others,”

said the newly appointed Government Commissioner.

He added that since March 1, the targeted eradication has started, and they are working every day to arrest the criminals. Aside from reinforcing heavily infested areas, the Office Against Drug-Related Crime has been set up, which has a special intervention unit. This task force can raid drug traffickers and drug houses anywhere and at any time.

The heavily infested areas are the northern and eastern parts of the country, the counties of Nógrád, Heves, Borsod, Szabolcs-Szatmár, Hajdúság, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Baranya, and the eastern and southern parts of Pest. Budapest is also a special center in this respect.

“We cannot allow anyone to promote drugs. It is prohibited to produce, distribute, use, and promote drugs in Hungary. It is important to educate people, but education should not be about drugs as something exciting and interesting, but as something that is life-threatening, that is poisonous, that destroys people, their families, and their environment,” explained Horváth. He added that it may also be necessary to reform and develop drug rehabilitation.

He continued by stating that many young people abandon their studies because of drug addiction, making a dent on the economy. The government is trying to help young workers with a number of measures so that they can find jobs, however, these measures will only be successful if drugs do not take away either the present or the future of these young people. Educational institutions are also affected, and cooperation with them is needed on a wide scale.

In order to get drugs, some addicts start stealing, breaking in, robbing. We need to take stricter action against such acts. We will also propose that any crime committed to obtain drugs or while under the influence of drugs should be considered a qualifying case.”

“The situation in Hungary is no more serious than in Western Europe, where, unfortunately, they still try not to talk about the problems in a more serious manner. In the West, mainstream politics and the media work to ensure a kind of liberalization of the drug market. This is a life-threatening direction, but Hungary will definitely choose a different path,” declared Horváth.

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