Students Warned Against Use Of Illegal Drugs

The Deputy Central Regional Police Commander, DCOP Johnson Owusu Agyeman, has warned students in the region that any student found in possession of marijuana or smoking it would be made to face the full rigours of the law.

He noted that once a student was 18 years, he would be made to face the law if illegal drugs were found in his possession.

Any one found to be in possession of Indian hemp could face a sentence of not less than 10 years while anyone found to be smoking the drug could be sentenced to at least five years imprisonment.

“You have to be wise and choose between years in jail and smoking because the police and the law would not spare you because you are students,” he said.

DCOP Agyeman was speaking at the launch of the report of the 2011 International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) at the Mfantsipim School.

The 2011 theme for the INCB was, “Youth have a right to be protected from drug abuse and dependence.”

He said it was surprising that the youth, particularly students, had devised several ways to get and abuse drugs.

Mr Owusu Agyeman said it was important for students to be vigilant and ensure that they did not go against the law.

The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa Doe, cautioned the students against being lured into abusing drugs, and added that abusing drugs would surely destroy their lives in the end and make them become a burden to their families and the nation.

She noted that the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse must be a shared responsibility and urged all, especially the media, to educate the public on the dangers of drug abuse to the individual and the nation as a whole.

She assured the international community of the government’s preparedness to continuously collaborate with its international partners in its bid to combat the global narcotics canker.

The Chief State Attorney, Mrs Hannah Taylor, who read the 2011 INCB report, indicated that all over the world, the youth featured high on the drug abuse scene, hence the need to protect them from drug abuse.

She said community leaders must work towards creating drug-free communities by engaging the youth in activities that would increase their value systems and feeling of belongingness.

The government, she said, must create jobs for the youth to remove them from negative behaviour such as drug abuse.

The Officer incharge of the Narcotics Control Board for the Central and Western regions, Mr Rodger Vanderpuije, said his office would continue to educate the youth on the dangers of abusing drugs to reduce the negative effects on them and the nation.