Prevention, addiction recovery and the fight against drug trafficking took centre stage at an international meeting hosted on 23 October by the San Patrignano community, in the hills above Rimini, with the participation of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The event was organised by Italy and France, co-founders of Ecad, the European Cities Against Drugs coalition, and aims to set out shared commitments for the coming years.
“Prevention must come before everything else, and it must begin as early as possible,” Meloni said, pointing to the need to reach young people, families, schools and universities, as well as the digital spaces where teenagers spend their time.
The prime minister also highlighted the role of the media: “We have opened a productive dialogue with the main networks to correct the misleading messages we have too often heard in the past.”
In her remarks, Meloni described a landscape marked by stronger, more accessible substances, dwelling on the rapid spread of synthetic drugs. She also pushed back against the notion of cannabis as a “soft” drug, arguing that its derivatives now contain THC concentrations far higher than in the past.
She also praised the work of the host community, calling it a “factory of hope and freedom.” The choice of San Patrignano as the venue, she explained, was meant to show European partners a concrete model of addiction recovery.
The Coalition, launched by Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron in Copenhagen in October 2025, brought together 38 European countries at its inception, alongside the European Commission and the Council of Europe. Its priorities include combating new synthetic drugs and cutting off drug-trafficking profits by tracing financial flows.
