June 1 is Drug Control Agent Day in Tajikistan

On June 1, drug control officers in Tajikistan celebrate their professional holiday. It was on this day that the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan was created.

In 1994, the Department for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking was established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan. In 1996, the State Commission for Drugs Control of the Republic of Tajikistan was established.

On April 27, 1999 in Vienna, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan and the UN Under-Secretary-General signed a protocol on the establishment of a drug control agency reporting directly to the Head of State. And on June 1, 1999 the Decree of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan established a new law enforcement agency: Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, hosted by the State Commission.

In the same year, 2,570 kilograms of narcotic substances were seized in Tajikistan and in 2000, the scale of seizures increased several times and exceeded seven tons. After the Tajik border guards took over the control of the state border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan and following the development of cooperation between the relevant structures and bodies, the volume of drugs seized increases with every year.

As you may recall, on May 18, 2023 in Minsk, the meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CSTO adopted the Statement on Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Young People. At the Council meeting, Mahmadtoir Zohir Zokirzoda, Speaker of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, spoke in favour of increasing cooperation within the CSTO PA.