Armenian police promise additional measures to prevent drug use among  minors

ArmInfo. Starting September 1, Armenia plans to implement additional preventive measures aimed at  preventing drug use among minors. This was announced by Georgiy  Khachatryan, Head of the Professional and Methodological Support  Department of the Main Public Police Department of the Ministry of  Internal Affairs of Armenia, at a press conference in Yerevan on  August 26.

According to him, special emphasis will be placed on working with  parents and legal guardians of children.  To this end, Khachatryan  explained, educational institutions will be provided with  informational booklets that will help adults recognize possible signs  of drug use and understand how to act if reasonable suspicions arise.  "In addressing this issue, we are focusing more on working with  parents and legal guardians of children. Because the first signal can  come from a parent," the high-ranking police officer noted.

Presenting the statistics, Khachatryan reported that in the first  half of 2026, police recorded two cases of drug distribution among  minors, compared to three such cases recorded in the same period in  2025. "We consider this a positive trend, but at the same time, we  understand that we have two recorded cases, and, of course, this is  concerning. The very fact that we recorded such a case shows that we  have work to do.  Therefore, we cannot relax our vigilance," the  department head noted.

According to him, voluntary screening is planned to be introduced to  prevent drug distribution among minors and a comprehensive set of  measures. "Approaches to implementing this initiative are currently  being discussed. Specifically, the methodology for implementing this  initiative is being discussed, given that this approach could be  viewed negatively by parents or society. It's important to  understand, however, that the goal of this initiative is solely to  reduce drug use," Khachatryan concluded.