Be Smart Say No to Drugs

Joining the efforts and campaigns of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, which is fighting both domestically and internationally, to prevent and combat a serious scourge – drug use and drug trafficking, Romfilatelia and the Romanian Post introduce into circulation on Friday, June 26th, 2026, the thematic postage stamp issue, ‘BE SMART AND SAY NO TO DRUGS!’.

The issue, consisting of a postage stamp and a First Day Cover, is dedicated to the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Every year on the 26th of June, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) marks the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, as part of its efforts to raise public awareness of the destructive impact of drugs and society’s responsibility to safeguard the health of young people.

The postage stamp of the philatelic issue, with the face value of Lei 9, features, in a sober graphic style, featuring original drawings by renowned artist Dan Perjovschi that serve as a warning about the destructive effects of drugs on human lives. These drawings are associated with the slogan of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police campaign slogan ‘Drug trafficking destroys lives!’. The message highlights the devastating effects of drug trafficking on individuals, families, and communities, serving as a powerful wake-up call and a means of promoting prevention among the general public.

The word ‘DRUG’ (in Romanian: ‘DROG’), incorporated into the postage stamp, is depicted graphically in a fragmented and unstable manner, suggesting the chaos and destructive effects of substance use. The letter ‘O’ is replaced by a circular symbol featuring a shape resembling a syringe or a broken object, symbolising the danger and degradation associated with drug use.

The minimalist graphics compel the viewer to decipher the message, enhancing its visual impact and memorability.

The artist himself explains the concept behind his drawings:

‘Over the past 35 years, Dan Perjovschi has been drawing on the walls of the world’s major museums and contemporary art biennials, such as MoMA, Tate, Centre Pompidou, the Venice Biennale, the Sydney Biennale, the São Paulo Biennial, and Documenta.

His drawings are political, social, and socially engaged. He does not embellish bones or living rooms, nor does he allow his work to be collected.

His concise, direct, black-and-white style stems from the Revolution. When you write ‘Down with the dictatorship!’ on walls, you do not have time for colours and decorative flourishes. It also stems from the free press of the 1990s, which, for the first time, was printed without censorship, on poor-quality paper and with lead type

Perjovschi draws the times in which he lives, with sharpness and humour. His drawing is text, and the text is drawing. What he creates are neither caricatures, nor graffiti, nor art brut. He calls them visual editorials. An entire book condensed into a single drawing or a single word.

DRUG (in Romanian: ‘DROG’). The ‘O’ becomes the head of a fallen, addicted person. A person on a downward path....’

Dan Perjovschi lives and works in Bucharest and Sibiu. Since 1990, he has been publishing in Revista 22, the first independent weekly magazine founded in Romania after the fall of the dictatorship.

He was awarded the George Maciunas Prize in 2004, the ECF Princess Margriet Award, Amsterdam, in 2012 (together with Lia Perjovschi), and the Rosa Schapire Art Prize of the Kunsthalle Hamburg in 2016.

Perjovschi is the 1999 laureate of the Gheorghe Ursu Human Rights Foundation and the 2016 laureate of the CERE Participare Civil Society Gala.

Romfilatelia thanks artist Dan Perjovschi and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police for their collaboration in the development of this postage stamp issue.