Fighting Drugs Is A Shared Responsibility -Narcotic Boss

From Ernest Best Anane, Mampong-Ashanti  
Mr. Ernest Owusu, Officer in Charge of Education, and Samuel Yeboah, in Charge of enforcement in the Ashanti Regional Zonal office of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), have said fighting against drug abuse in the country is a shared responsibility, for which reason everybody is expected to get involved in fighting the menace.

According to them, drugs are tearing societies apart, and for that matter, it should be a concern to every discerning and responsible Ghanaian to join hands to fight against it, by giving reliable information and report suspects to the security agencies or NACOB offices.

The occasion was the Hall Week celebration of Amaniampong Hall of the University of Education Winneba, Mampong campus, under the theme: The role of self-initiative, designed to enlighten and educate the students about the dangers of drugs abuse, addiction, its effects and impact, and the measures to fight against it.

They explained that addiction was a compulsive behaviour and decrease of the brain, and not a moral failure, because it is treatable.

It was pointed out that staying out late in the night, sudden changes of friendship, neglect of personal hygiene, isolation from group or family, high tendency to lie, loss of interest in school, habit of eating toffees and burning of incense are some of the signs of drugs abuse.

The narcotic officers said drug was anything that changed the functions and performance of the body behaviour and feelings, and that some drugs are meant for relief of pain, anxiety, stress and socially relax, for which reason the repeated and excessive use of natural or synthetic for non-medical reasons is drug abuse.

They stressed the need to educate the public on drugs which are allowed by law (licit), and which are not (illicit), and cautioned members of the public on the devastating effects of drugs, since some people go into drugs due to peer group influence, curiosity or for recreational sake, and thereafter lead to addiction.

Michael Adomako Mensah, President of the Hall, stated that some students were known to be in drugs, hence the need for NACOB to educate the students on the dangers in drugs abuse, which may endanger their future aspirations as future leaders of this country.

He appealed to the NACOB officers to extend their education campaign to all institutions, and not wait to be invited before they embarked on such educational programmes to ensure that drugs are drastically reduced, if not eliminated.