Drugs, Students And Society

THE GHANA Police Service has embarked on a nationwide operation to combat the menace of drug usage in the country.

The Regional Commanders have indeed taken the crusade very seriously and this paper hopes the public will give the Police their needed support to make the exercise a success.

Though serious drug related cases have now engulfed the Police Service, this should not be misconstrued to mean the Police would not carve a name for themselves in this exercise they have embarked upon. For reports reaching us from all the regions show that the Police are truly serious about the operation to clamp down on drug peddlers and users.

But one thing that is now a big worry to this country is the usage of drugs among our students.

Recently, the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Anthony Evans Amoah, expressed serious misgivings about the upsurge in the use of drugs among students in second cycle and tertiary institutions in the country.

He said Ghanaians needed to support the fight against the drug menace in view of the importance of the youth, who are the major users, to the socio-economic development of the country. And this is where The Chronicle is seriously appealing to all Ghanaians to help the Police curb this canker.

As parents, guardians and teachers of these children, it is our responsibility and duty to educate our young ones on the hazards that drugs causes. In fact, the current spate of drug abuse and trafficking demands some level of response from both parents and teachers, given the role that parents and teachers play in the upbringing of the youth in their early socialization.

It is therefore very important that we exert the required influence, attitudes and behaviours on the children in their youth stage.

For our present day, children are living in a world of their own, being influenced by western cultures and peers and having the mentality that indulging in certain vices make them modern.

This mentality is very dangerous and bad. So parents and teachers have a role to play to teach these children while in their early span of life the harmful effects of drugs thereby making them to shun drugs if they grow.

We should all realize also that the use of drugs, if not controlled, could be very disastrous for the society.

For drugs are the vehicles criminals use to cause their havoc on innocent people.

In as much as Ghanaians are presently shying away from the Police because of the current difficulties they are facing, we should know that not all Policemen are tainted with corruption or drug-related issues.

The Police are there to protect society and any attempt by them to rescue society from an evil menace should be embraced by all and sundry. We should give them the needed support to win this war on the drug peddlers and criminals who are corrupting our children and the society at large.

Our parents should also make every effort to bring up their children in a very positive manner, drumming into their ears that the ambitions of drug barons is to get many people including children to become addicted to drugs in order for them to get rich.

We at The Chronicle will pray for the Police to succeed in this noble operation of theirs that should permeate the alleys, schools, bars and known drug-peddling areas in the country.

We have the belief that the Police know the hideouts of these drug pushers and should not show any mercy to them.

The days that drug barons and pushers are protected by senior Police Officials is gone away forever and the new faced Police should let Ghanaians know that they have said no to fraternization with drug dealers, barons or pushers, and will hold high the objectives that motivated them to join the Police Service.