Lithuania's Securitization Process of Drug Issues Through the National Agenda 2035 in 2018-2023

This study examines how the Lithuanian government shifted its framing of drugs from a public health issue to a national security threat between 2018 and 2023. This change is reflected in the transition from the 2018–2028 National Programme for the Control and Prevention of Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Use, which was based on a public health approach focused on harmful effects, to the National Agenda for the Control of Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol, Consumption Prevention and Harm Reduction until 2035, which was adopted by the Seimas in 2023. This study employs a descriptive qualitative method relying on secondary data drawn from official government documents, parliamentary statements and reports from national and international institutions. This study also used the Copenhagen School framework for the analysis. The findings indicate that the supply of narcotics is constructed as a security threat, based on the 1996 National Security Act, whilst users are simultaneously channelled into the health sector, resulting in a separation rather than a unified security approach. This study adds to the literature on non-traditional security in Eastern Europe and presents policymakers with an analytical insight into discourse-based threat constructions and its influence on national drug control strategies.