ILLEGAL CANNABIS GROWERS IN SERBIA

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the indoor cultivation of marijuana in laboratory conditions in Serbia. The sample included 138 illegal laboratories discovered in Serbia in the period from 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2019. In 51 (37%) of the laboratories discovered, marijuana was detected at various stages of the production process, from stems of very low height to the final product ready for distribution to the illegal drug market. This result points to the conclusion that the producers took care to have a certain amount of “the goods” ready for the illegal drug market at all times. In 136 laboratories discovered (for the two remaining laboratories there were no data available), the total of 196 persons were deprived of liberty, whose average age was 38 (+/- 10). Out of that number, only one person in each of the 96 (68.4%) laboratories discovered was arrested. The number of the arrested persons is very small, which leads us to a conclusion that the criminal investigations do not sufficiently determine the connection between the illegal producers and the rest of the criminal organization.