Generations of Albanians Lived off Cannabis Production. Can They Stop?

Some 3,739 were convicted, including Valentina, but her brush with the law hasn't stopped her. Valentina's persistence is testimony to the deep roots of cannabis cultivation in rural regions of Albania, where poverty is rife and cannabis is seen as a financial lifeline. Police collusion also remains common.

Experts warn it will take more than police raids and prosecutions to eradicate the phenomenon.

"Dealing with this issue in a sustainable way will not only require a law enforcement response and steps to tackle corruption," said Kristina Amerhauser, an analyst with the Global Initiative Against Organised Crime.

"It also needs a more strategic development approach, and measures to reduce the vulnerabilities that drive and enable certain communities to grow cannabis."

'Higher quality, more expensive'

Illustration. Photo: EPA-EFE/Carlos Ramírez

Large-scale cannabis cultivation in Albania dates to the early 1990s, not long after the fall of the country's Communist dictatorship, when the parlous state of the Albanian economy led to widespread civil unrest in 1997.

Penetrated by ever more powerful criminal gangs, the industry reached a peak in 2016, when Albania was one of the biggest producers in the world.

"For years, Albania has been considered the largest producer of outdoor-grown cannabis in Europe and the geographic position of Albania - its proximity to Greece and Italy - has stimulated the cultivation of cannabis over the years," said Amerhauser.

With the aid of Italian aerial reconnaissance flights between 2013 and 2019, authorities identified 613 hectares of land planted with cannabis.

For a long time, cultivation was concentrated in and around the southern village...