Official visit of the EMCDDA Director to Estonia

EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel is today paying an official visit to Estonia. The visit will include meetings with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Police and Border Guard Board and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The meeting with Estonia’s Interior Minister, Andres Anvelt, will pay particular attention to the country’s: drug policy coordination; drug prevention policy; supply reduction activities and results; and application of alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug using offenders, with an emphasis on a public health approach. This meeting will be followed by a session with the Estonian Association of People Who Use Psychotropic Substances (LUNEST), looking at the role played by this NGO in the country.

A second session with government representatives will be led by Riina Sikkut, Minister of Health and Labour, and will be attended by members of the Estonian Reitox national focal point. Representatives of the Agency of Medicines and the National Institute for Health Development will also participate in the discussions. The session will focus on Estonia’s: drug demand reduction activities; approach to the regulation of new psychoactive substances; and organisation and development of drug services.

Finally, Mr Goosdeel will visit the Estonian Forensic Science Institute in order to observe and discuss the detection and toxicology of illicit drugs.