NACOB Sensitises Students On Drug Abuse

THE Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), has deplored the practice whereby some people in the Upper West Region mix the locally brewed beverage, 'Pito' with Indian hemp, to make it more 'potent'.

This came to light when NACOB officials interacted with students of second-cycle schools in the UWR as part of its drug awareness campaign.

The campaign was meant to sensitise the students on the harmful effects of drug abuse and trafficking.

These were contained in a press statement issued by the public relations department of NACOB on Wednesday.

The release said, the campaign was not only aimed at preventing students from engaging in drug-related activities but also to encourage drug users and addicts to seek expert attention.

The statement mentioned the director for demand reduction, Francis Torkornoo, as saying that, statistics from psychiatric hospitals had shown an increase in youth involvement in drugs.

He has, therefore, stressed the need to educate students and seek public support against prohibited activities relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

Mrs. Juddy Mensah, head of education department of NACOB, took the students through such topics as substance abuse, types of illicit drugs and their countries of origin, and the method of trafficking.

She defined drug abuse as the deliberate use of natural and or chemical substances for non-medical purposes to affect the body and its processes, the mind, and the nervous system and also behaviour and feelings.

Mrs. Mensah cited Indian hemp, cocaine, and heroin as illicit drugs that are mostly abused locally.

In a related development, Mr. Stanley Ayo, an officer of NACOB, also delivered a lecture on Narcotic Management for recruits of the Ghana Immigration Service at the training school at Assin Fosu.

Mr. Ayo said, since the recruits will be assigned border patrol duties, there was the need to equip them in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking to ensure security and proper monitoring of our borders and entry points.

He stressed the need for the recruits to go through proper evidence handling after an arrest of a suspected drug trafficker, in order to have a successful conviction when the matter goes to court.