Varoufakis Rails Against Police Summons Over 1989 Ecstasy Use in Australia

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Yanis Varoufakis, the outspoken former Finance Minister and leader of the leftist party MeRA25, expressed outrage on Friday after police delivered a summons to his home for a preliminary investigation tied to his recent candid remarks about past personal drug use.

In a video posted on social media, Varoufakis described the incident as both "hilarious" and "scary." He recounted how two officers appeared at his doorstep that morning to serve him with an order to appear before the narcotics unit (the Greek equivalent of the DEA) at police headquarters—not as a witness or expert, but as the accused.

The summons stems from comments Varoufakis made shortly after New Year's on the "Phasma" podcast, hosted by young journalists Gaia Merkouri and Dimitris Petrichou. Responding to questions about his experiences with drugs, Varoufakis was blunt, contrasting himself with former U.S. President Bill Clinton's infamous "I didn't inhale" quip.

He admitted to having used cannabis and revealed a single experience with ecstasy in Sydney, Australia, in 1989.

“I’ve taken ecstasy once, and it was an amazing experience… I remember dancing for 15–16 hours as if nothing was wrong, but I suffered for a week afterwards and never really recovered,” he said.

Hello, this is Yanis Varoufakis with a piece of news that would have been hilarious if it weren’t so scary. This morning, two policemen appeared on my doorstep to serve a summons ordering me to the police headquarters to be interrogated by the Greek DEA, our drug busting police… pic.twitter.com/GaoY0Rq2l3

— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) January 16, 2026

Varoufakis emphasized that the episode—while initially pleasant—led to severe aftereffects, including a week-long migraine, and he never repeated it. He framed the anecdote as a cautionary tale about the risks of drug use, highlighting addiction as "the end of liberty" and warning young listeners against dependence.

He also noted finding cannabis "pleasant" but clarified he no longer has access to it, as "no one gives it to me."

Varoufakis claimed the investigation accuses him of aiding and abetting the "narco-mafia," a charge he dismissed as absurd given the 36-year-old nature of the incident and his anti-addiction messaging. He warned that such actions reflect broader threats to freedom in Europe, likening them to a slide toward a "postmodern version of the Dark Ages" amid global crises.

His party, MeRA25, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the move as a "political prosecution" and an "unimaginable abuse of power." They accused authorities of targeting Varoufakis for his advocacy of evidence-based drug policy reforms, which they say threaten drug traffickers' profits.

The party described the summons—delivered without specifying a clear criminal offense—as a return to authoritarian practices reminiscent of mid-20th-century "national-mindedness" eras in Greece.

The development follows an earlier referral of the podcast clip to prosecutors by police earlier this month, prompting a preliminary probe into possible incitement or promotion of narcotic substances.

Varoufakis has long been a polarizing figure in Greek politics, known for his anti-austerity stance during the 2015 debt crisis and his ongoing criticism of government policies. He positioned his honesty as appealing to younger generations disillusioned with hypocrisy in drug enforcement.

The case has sparked debate online and in media, with supporters viewing it as intimidation over free speech, while critics argue such public admissions could influence vulnerable audiences. The investigation remains in its early stages.

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