Amend laws on drug smuggling - Supreme Court Judge

The Judiciary is ready to enforce laws on illicit drug trade as a means of curbing abuse of fake drugs and substances, a Supreme Court Judge, Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, has said.

She has, however, called for the amendment of existing laws on illicit drug trade to make Ghana an unfriendly destination for drug smugglers.

Mrs Adinyira said the current laws on illicit drug trade were not deterrent enough, and as a result drug smugglers found it conducive to ply their trade in the country.

“If laws are weak, drug smugglers would decide to engage in the business here.”

Mrs Adinyira said this at the just ended Inter-agency Consultative Forum on Strategies for Countering Counterfeit Drugs and Substance Abuse in Accra.

It was on the theme: “Effective Strategies for Countering Counterfeit Drugs and Substance Abuse,” which brought together personnel from 46 agencies in the country to brainstorm on the issue.

The forum was organised by the Foods and Drugs Authority (FDA) and Africa Alliance Partnership and Conference of Western Attorneys General.

Mrs Adinyira noted that the abuse of drugs such as Tramadol and Codeine were equally dangerous like cocaine.

She said in Ghana, where drug peddlers were sometimes only fined, other states had stiffer jail terms being imposed on offenders.

On the amendment of laws on illicit drug and substances, the Supreme Court Judge urged stakeholders to involve the judiciary.

The World Health Organisation Report indicates that each year more than 120,000 Africans are killed by fake malaria drugs and 10 to 30 per cent of the drugs and pharmaceutical products in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America are counterfeit.

In Ghana, the FDA has led the crusade against fake drugs and substance abuse.