NCCE organises workshop on narcotic drugs for youth in Accra

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has organized a three-day workshop for youth leaders and some selected drug addicts in Accra.

The workshop, aimed at empowering the participants to be advocates against the use of narcotic drugs is on the theme: “Own Your Future”, and was sponsored by the German Embassy in Ghana.

Mrs Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the NCCE said the workshop is to equip the participants to be peer educators against drug abuse in their communities.

She said two hundred youth were targeted throughout the country in 20 Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts, saying, “We are done with Tarkwa and Enchi in the Western Region, Cape Coast and Swedru in the Central Region and now we are in the Greater Accra Region.”

Mrs Osei said the youth were now engaged in the use and trafficking of drugs and hoped that the workshop would help change their lifestyles.

She appealed to the participants to use the knowledge acquired to be good advocates to help change the lives of other youths in their communities.

Mr. Thomas Wimmer, Acting German Ambassador, said Germany and Ghana have a long standing diplomatic relations and that the German Embassy was supporting the efforts of the NCCE to achieve their goal.

Mr. Wimmer noted that the most effective way to reach families and communities to talk about drugs was to train the youth to be educators of counter drugs.

Mr. Logosu Amegashei, Head of Addictive Disease Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, took participants through an overview of the drugs situation in Ghana and its effects.

He said drug abuse and drug trafficking in Ghana has ceased to be an issue of the major cities in the country and that drugs were not a problem solely for the poor, the rich, minorities or inner residents, but that, “The drug problem affects all.”

Mr. Amegashei said Marijuana, Heroin and other drugs were now laced with food and other substance which could not be detected by people.

The lacing is normally done to introduce the youth to drugs without them knowing they were taking drugs.

The NCCE will move to the Volta Region and other Regions to hold similar workshops.