Shavkat Mirziyoyev Announces Start of Nationwide Movement Against Drug Addiction

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the critical issue of illicit drug trafficking and psychotropic substance abuse during a celebratory meeting with representatives of the country's younger generation. The head of state emphasized that drug crime currently poses a direct and serious threat to the nation's gene pool.

Of particular concern to the republic's leadership is the fact that approximately one-third of all crimes in this category are committed by young people. In light of this situation, countering the spread of banned substances in Uzbekistan is taking on the status of a large-scale, nationwide movement. To achieve the set goals and eradicate this threat, the state intends to mobilize all available specialized forces, technical capabilities, and financial resources.

The President recalled that a key legal foundation for this fight was established recently with the adoption and entry into force of a special law that fundamentally toughens criminal liability for drug offenses. Shavkat Mirziyoyev firmly declared that the leadership of the republic will never allow this dangerous evil to take root among the youth and will continue its uncompromising work until the channels of drug distribution are completely destroyed.

Addressing the gathered youth directly, the head of state noted that drug addiction deprives a person of their most essential values: it undermines health, destroys willpower, impairs reason, and shatters life dreams and long-term goals. The leader of Uzbekistan urged young men and women to remember the uniqueness of human life, to show absolute intolerance toward any form of drug threat, and to dedicate their free time exclusively to constructive labor and good deeds.

A separate appeal from the head of state was directed at parents. The President focused attention on the fact that it is within the family circle that the foundational basis for the full development of each child's personality, maturation, and future life success is laid. In a rapidly changing, unpredictable, and highly complex modern world, Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on parents to treat their duties with the utmost seriousness and to dedicate even greater attention to the upbringing of their children.