Speaking to the press on International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, June 26, he said the annual damage of drug abuse in Croatia amounted to between 1.5 and two billion kuna.
Klaric said he was satisfied with the work of his office, adding that according to its figures, between 40,000 and 60,000 people in Croatia had been or were in contact with various drugs.
He warned about the increasing quantity of designer drugs. He said about 20 substances were waiting to be put on the list of banned substances, adding that these new drugs were increasingly present and cheap.
Marina Kuzman of the Croatian Public Health Institute said Croatia's prevention system was stable and good, and that few diseases typical of drug use, such as hepatitis B and C and HIV, had been reported.
She said that by 2011, 7,665 people in Croatia had been treated for drug addiction, including 1,153 last year.
The most abused drugs in Croatia are marijuana and heroin, Kuzman said. She underlined the need for family supervision, saying it took many families years to notice that their children had drug problems.