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Fentanyl: Italy's Drug Department Head Says 'We are Not America, We Want to Prevent a Real Emergency'
🇮🇹 Italy /Disasters & Emergencies

Fentanyl: Italy's Drug Department Head Says 'We are Not America, We Want to Prevent a Real Emergency'

From Corriere della Sera · () Italian

Translated from Italian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Italy is taking a proactive approach to prevent a fentanyl crisis similar to the one in the United States.
  • Elisabetta Simeoni, director of the Department for Policies Against Drugs and Addictions, emphasized an integrated strategy involving information, monitoring, prevention, and law enforcement.
  • The government has established a task force and a national prevention plan to address the growing risks associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

Italy is determined to avoid the devastating fentanyl crisis that has gripped the United States, according to Elisabetta Simeoni, director of the Department for Policies Against Drugs and Addictions. "We are not the USA with its overdose deaths," Simeoni stated, highlighting Italy's commitment to prevention.

We are not the USA with its overdose deaths, but the central directorate for anti-drug services which coordinates the work of police, carabinieri and the financial police is alerted and ready to intervene, as are the carabinieri of the NAS who report to the Ministry of Health.

— Elisabetta Simeoni, Director of the Department for Policies Against Drugs and AddictionsSimeoni reassures that Italy is prepared to handle the fentanyl threat, contrasting its situation with the severe overdose crisis in the United States and detailing the coordinated efforts of various law enforcement and health agencies.

Simeoni explained that an "integrated" approach is being pursued, which involves information dissemination, continuous monitoring, robust prevention programs, and close coordination with law enforcement agencies. This strategy aims to tackle the issue before it escalates into a widespread social emergency. The central directorate for anti-drug services, which oversees police, carabinieri, and the financial police, is on alert, as are the carabinieri of the NAS, who report to the Ministry of Health.

The government, under Palazzo Chigi, is actively studying the phenomenon, recognizing its growing social impact. Simeoni noted that vulnerability to drug use is becoming more widespread, with individuals falling into categories of those who heed warnings and those who do not. She expressed concern that the latter group is increasing.

Information, monitoring, prevention, and coordination with law enforcement are needed.

— Elisabetta Simeoni, Director of the Department for Policies Against Drugs and AddictionsSimeoni outlines the core components of Italy's integrated strategy to combat the growing fentanyl problem.

To combat this, a national prevention plan for the misuse of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids has been developed. This plan involves a coordinated effort across ministries, with the Ministry of Health, for example, directing regions to implement preventive measures. A key initial step is monitoring locations where these potent drugs are stored.

We want to spare our country the suffering that exists in the United States.

— Elisabetta Simeoni, Director of the Department for Policies Against Drugs and AddictionsSimeoni explains the primary motivation behind Italy's proactive stance on fentanyl, emphasizing the desire to prevent a public health disaster.

Simeoni also addressed recent thefts of fentanyl, noting that while previous thefts involved costly medications like anti-cancer drugs, the targeted theft of fentanyl in significant quantities is a new and more worrying development. The substance has a substantial market, which is being monitored through web research. The article also briefly touches upon the evolving nature of cannabis use, warning that it is no longer the same as in the 1960s, citing recent hospitalizations due to honey laced with cannabinoids.

Drug use is, unfortunately, increasingly widespread and pervasive.

— Elisabetta Simeoni, Director of the Department for Policies Against Drugs and AddictionsSimeoni acknowledges the broad reach of drug abuse in Italy, setting the stage for a discussion on the differences and similarities with the US situation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Corriere della Sera in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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