As of May 31, 2025, eight Armenian police officers were fired for drug use and another two for refusing to undergo an examination during an official investigation.

According to police data provided to Hetq, the largest number of fired police officers was in 2024 - eighteen, fifteen of whom were dismissed for drug use, two for refusing to undergo an examination during an official investigation, and one police officer was dismissed from service for engaging in the preparation and sale of large quantities of narcotics and psychotropic substances.

Police data show that drug use is most common among the junior officer corps.  

During 2020-25, thirty-two junior officers were dismissed from their jobs.

More than half of those dismissed for drug use were from two groups: nineteen from the Police Troops and fourteen from the Patrol Service. One officer was from the Police Educational Complex.

Armenia’s Department of Police, a division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, tells Hetq that officers undergo a psycho-physiological exam to detect for alcohol or drug addiction.

The Armenian government, this month, adopted an action plan to combat drug use  among persons holding public office and in the public service.

The “Strategy for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and the Action Plan for 2025-2027” states that “it is necessary to conduct a study based on international standards and the best practices of other countries, which will address the issue of the possibility of requiring persons holding public office and public servants to undergo periodic drug testing.”