West Africans becoming major users of illicit drugs

Accra, July 6, GNA - Mr. Abraham Nunoo, Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre, on Thursday noted that there was an upsurge in the use of illicit drugs among West Africans, saying the sub-region had moved from being a transit point to a major user of illicit drugs due to the weaknesses in the laws governing member countries.

Mr. Nunoo was speaking at a ceremony in Accra organized by Humanity Care International (HCI), a Non-Governmental Organization, to sensitize students of Labone Secondary School on the effects of drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

He said recent developments on the West African coast, especially the recent interception of large quantities of cocaine in Senegal and other countries, gave credence to the fact that there had been an increase in the use of illicit drugs among West Africans.

Mr. Nunoo said the UN had observed that illicit uses of drugs were mostly associated with transnational and organized crimes which had political, social and economic effects on countries.

He said the fight against the use of illicit drugs needed a multi-dimensional approach and the UN had been assisting Ghana through the International Narcotics Control Board in its quest to fight against the use of illicit drugs.

Mr Nunoo said the UN had been training Ghanaian security personnel and also providing the government with modern devices to be able to detect illicit drugs on the shores and beyond. Mrs Faustina Nelson, Executive Chairperson, HCI, said it was important for civil society groups to see the need to educate the youth, who are the future leaders of the country, against the use of illicit drugs.

Mrs Nelson said HCI saw the need to educate the youth, especially students who were vulnerable, against the influence of drug peddlers. She said it was untrue that hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana helped to increase the intelligence quotient of students.