Marijuana is currently the most common of all narcotic and psychotropic substances in Latvia, and the amounts of marijuana grown in Latvia continue to increase, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (Unity) told LETA after a meeting of the Drug Control and Drug Abuse Prevention Council yesterday.In 2012, the State Police busted eight marijuana plantations in Latvia, whereas last year the police closed 18 plantations, said the minister. Furthermore, the climate of Latvia currently makes it possible to grow marijuana in natural environment, not laboratories.
The council decided yesterday to seek additional funding for the State Police from the state budget. One of the reasons is that the police’s budget for laboratory tests, carried out to establish whether a suspect has been using marijuana, has already been overrun.
According to the Interior Ministry’s estimates, the State Police need an extra EUR 150,000.
Source: The Baltic Course
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