Officials of the Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC) of Ghana have advised young people and the general public to avoid drug and substance abuse as it has dire consequences on their health.
The officials who spoke under condition of anonymity for professional and ethical reasons were speaking on Youth Hub, a weekly youth-focused radio program on Info Radio, on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
The week’s edition of Youth Hub extensively discussed issues of drugs and substance abuse among young people featuring officials from the Upper West Regional Office of the NACOC, who spoke under conditions of anonymity.
The officials said the consequences of drug and substance abuse go beyond the addicted or affected individual to impact adversely the larger community and the country as a whole.
“The effects [of drug and substance abuse] are varied and at different levels,” an official told host Vivian Danuor.
One of the officials said most of the drugs and substances that people abuse are psychoactive and addictive and when taken, invite the individual to take more and in turn blind their minds from engaging in any meaningful and productive activity.
He added that the addicted individual depletes their money on buying the drug and eventually has to steal from their relatives and where they no longer get to steal from their relations, they begin to steal from neighbours and the public.
“Your steal is causing insecurity in your community. If you steal and you are not lucky, one day they can beat you to death, one day, they can arrest you and put you in cells.
“As you consume [the drugs], it destroys your organs, you become sick, you go the hospital and look, you are taking a bed that was supposed to have been given to somebody who is unavoidably sick, you are putting a lot of pressure on the hospital facilities.
“[The] government would need to pump in a whole lot of money retooling, creating enough space for people like you and even setting up rehab centres so that they can take care of people like you,” he outlined some of the effects.
He added that substance abuse fuels instances of domestic violence and that in most severe cases where the individual’s organs get highly deteriorated, it can result in death.
The NACOC officials revealed that the popular trend of substance abuse common with young people in recent times is the consumption of Tramadol mixed with energy drinks for varied reasons including to fell high, boasting sexual activity, and developing numbness to physical pain, among others.
They added that substance abuse was also common among the working class and students who also take the substances to induce sleep or stay off at night to carry out work and learning activities respectively.
The officials observed that curiosity and experimentation were the initial stages of drug and substance abuse, leading people to become occasional users of drugs and subsequently, addicts after experimenting with the drug over time.
Meanwhile, they admonished parents to be watchful over their wards to ensure they do not indulge in substance abuse as they could learn such behaviours from their peers.
They also advised children and young people to “Say No To Drugs” in order to progress higher in life.
The NACOC officials, however, indicated that people who are addicted to drugs and want to stop could seek support from their health facilities or the offices of the NACOC.