“Easy” to get hold of drugs

In 2017, tax and customs authority TAKS confiscated 23 kilos of illegal drugs, which is a fourfold increase on 2016.

This has led some to suggest that it is too easy to find drugs in the Faroes.

Eyðun Mørkøre, CEO of TAKS, has said that TAKS needs to strengthen its customs inspection methods.

Tróndur Húsgarð, 22, was addicted to drugs for four years but is now clean following a lengthy treatment programme. He says it is easy to get hold of illegal drugs in the Faroes.

“If you can’t find anything through your friends, there is always some friend of a friend who can find something,” he said.

Statistics back up the view that drugs are becoming more prevalent in the country.

In 2008, the police had 55 drug-related cases. This number has now doubled.

There is also an increasing demand for treatment of drug-related problems.

Drug rehabilitation centre Frælsið in Eiði, Eysturoy, offers treatment to young people aged 18-24. The centre currently has a waiting list of five people.

Centre leader Martin Kúrberg agrees that it is too easy to find drugs in the Faroes.

“Our centre is under a lot of pressure due to the growing demand for treatment. Politicians should come and visit our centre so they can see that drugs are a very real problem,” he said.

“About 400,000 people travel to the Faroes every year, and we only have two sniffer dogs. So it’s clear that we have pretty limited resources for dealing with creative drug smugglers.”

Translated by prosa.fo