Members of Ghana’s Parliament have called for a united front to resolve what they describe as the free-for-all sale of illicit addictive opioids in the open market and the growing abuse of same by the country’s youth.
Among the reasons mentioned by the MPs for which the youth take the illicit opioids are to feel euphoric, to have good sex and to commit all manner of crimes including murder, assault and stealing.
Parliamentarians from both sides of the divide, on Tuesday February 25, described the development as a national crisis with security threats as they took turns to pledge their commitment and support for efforts announced by Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh to tackle the menace.
Dr. Sandaare
Dr. Sebastian Ngmenenso Sandaare, Member of Parliament for Daffiama/Bussie/Issa told the House that youth unemployment and an inefficient pharmaco-vigilance regime has fueled the situation:
“We are dealing with drugs or substances that people, especially our youth, take to feel high. Why do they want to feel high and why do they need a substance to feel high? That comes due to unemployment and that is one of the issues we have to tackle so the issue has to be tackled using a multi-disciplinary approach”, Dr. Sandaare noted.
He continued: “Some youth take it to feel high to do what they want; others to commit crimes, some take these drugs to feel high to have good sex and some ladies feel good. They feel high on the road and some of the people that meet you on the road and can shoot you do not just do it ordinarily. They shoot you because they feel high.
“Once again, I thank the Minister and I say that we need to invest in pharmacy vigilance. It is not today that this menace has been happening but we could not pick it up. We need to invest and support our regulatory bodies to have adequate funding to be able to do what the law mandates them to do. That is where the problem is.”
Dr. Zanetor
MP for Korle Klottey, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, and Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey recounted an incident in her Constituency to highlight the security threats the situation poses:
“In my constituency, we have a cluster of schools, the Nii Amugi Cluster of Schools, where people who are addicted to drugs have actually invaded the premises, where they harass children, they harass the teachers, and in the last three of the weeks, one of the security personnel in the school was attacked by a gang of drug addicts and is now at the 37 Military Hospital in a coma.
“Mr. Speaker, the ramifications of this illicit drug inflow into Ghana go beyond the large scale, but it’s affecting people’s lives, it’s affecting the security in our schools, it’s affecting the security of our ordinary citizens.”
Anyimadu-Antwi
The Asante Akyem Central Member of Parliament, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, called for an inter-sectoral collaboration.
He mentioned the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Narcotics Control Commission collaborating to enforce stricter border controls to prevent the importation of any form of illicit opioids in the first place.
Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi said there may even be Customs officials who may not know the various types of illicit opioids and may therefore allow them into the country instead of stopping them at the borders.
Prof. Beyou
Prof. Titus K. Beyuo, Member of Parliament for Lambussie Constituency spoke about the addictive nature of the drug and said the pharmacology tolerance makes uses crave for more in higher dosages and end up damaging themselves.
According to Prof Beyuo, there is a criminal element to the infiltration of the drugs and the over-the-counter sales of it when pharmacists know very well it should be sold only based on a certified doctor’s prescription.
He called for the need for the law enforcement institutions to get involved to handle the criminal aspects of the situation while the other stakeholders focus on their respective areas of expertise.
In his view, preventing an addiction is far better than managing one therefore the sales of the drugs should be very highly regulated.
Akandoh
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister for Health, told the House about a joint task force that has been put together as one of the steps being taken by government to resolve the challenge: “a Joint Task Force involving the FDA, the Narcotics Control Commission, Customs, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has intensified checks at little entry points to prevent further unauthorized imports, leading to disruption of a large consignment of Tramador and similar drugs,”
