The Head of Greater Accra Regional Narcotics Control Commission (NCC), David Adjetey Adjei has mentioned unemployment as could of the factors that lead people to use and/or abuse drugs in Ghana.
Narcotic drug use, its abuse, and trafficking have been a worrying trend across Ghana, especially in city centres and ghettos. In most cases, the police service uses intelligence coupled with brute force to fish out these drug abusers.
Mr Adjei opined that it is essential to explore the factors that lead people into drug use and address the situation with empathy and flexibility instead of throwing all drug abusers in prison cells.
Speaking to Berla Mundi on TV3’s New Day, Mr Adjei said unemployment is one of the key trigger factors that push people into doing drugs.
“Sometimes when you go into people’s lives and try to find out why they smoke or go into drugs, you may find some pathetic stories. Unemployment may lead someone into doing drugs, family problems like divorce, loss of a family member, or so many other things that can lead to drugs. Some innocent children may be led into doing drugs due to the economic situation of their parents. When they start taking drugs, they get to a point they can’t stop again, addiction. Depending on the situation of the person, you’ll have to be flexible on them’’, he said.
He observed that there is a wrong impression created that Ghana has passed a law that decriminalizes the possession, cultivation and use of marijuana. He explained the law has been misconstrued.
“The law has not legalized marijuana in any form in Ghana. The possession is illegal. The cultivation is illegal. The transportation or distribution is illegal. The provisions that have been made in a new law is that marijuana has been found to contain medicinal values and can also be and can also be used for scientific research. The law says marijuana which contains 0.3% of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) which is the predominant chemical in marijuana, can be cultivated for industrial and medicinal purposes only. It’s not for recreation’’.
By Prince Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
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