Drug addiction among the youth did not start today. The difference between what used to happen yesteryears and today is that, the social media craze has contributed immensely to the spread of the menace.
Before Cocaine and Heroin entered the shores of Ghana, Seamen in the Black Star Line Vessels who travelled to America and other countries came with hard drugs like Barbiturates, LSD, Purple Violet, Ecstasy and others.
In the early seventies the youth in the big towns used to be hooked to Ecstasy so much so that it became fashionable to take one tablet of the drug before going to the discotheques.
When one goes ‘high’ after taking Ecstasy, the person could dance all night long till day breaks (TDB) at the discotheques. Even in the air-conditioned discotheques guys who took Ecstasy would be sweating as they dance to music played by the Disc Jockey.
Some of the youth who became addicted to the drug ended up going mad. They will do everything, including petty thievery to get money to buy Ecstasy. So many lives were destroyed by this drug.
When Barbiturates and LSD took the stage, matters became worse. Students in particular were hooked to these drugs. You could not differentiate between the person who was high on these drugs and a violent mad person.
Ladies who became addicted to these hard drugs became prostitutes. When they needed money to buy these drugs they became lose and offered themselves to men to be misused in order to get money to buy them. Because of the high potency of these hard drugs, Marijuana or Wee was no big deal at all.
It was used as recreational stuff or sweet after meals. To add insult to injury, the late Bob Marley and Peter Tosh advertized the use of Marijuana in their Reggae songs.
The youth were caught up in the frenzy and everybody was puffing away with joy. That was when ‘Wee’ basis started sprouting up in communities like poisonous mushroom in cow dung.
When cocaine and heroin entered the market, only boys and girls from rich families were able to buy and use them. In those days poor guys could not afford to buy cocaine and heroin. So it became an ‘elitist’ hard drug.
Today if you go to almost every town in Ghana, Heroin and cocaine are being sold like the way tomatoes are sold at the market. As for Marijuana, it has replaced cigarette and the youth smoke it openly.
What is most disturbing is that drugs like Tramadol, which is sometimes recommended by doctors as pain killer is being misused by the youth. An overdose of Tramadol makes the user go ‘higher’ than the one who sniffs cocaine.
There is a particular cough mixture which is being misused by the youth. They drink a whole bottle of that particular cough mixture at a go and immediately go ‘high’. It seems we are losing the fight against drug abuse among the youth simply because they are always ahead of us.
Part of the genesis of arm robbery, indiscipline, disrespect of senior citizens and authority, rape, defilement among other vices is drug addiction and the use of these killer hard drugs. When these guys take these drugs, they become daring, brave, sex maniacs, fearless and dangerous.
If you think you are among the elite in society and live in your luxurious mansion with your wife and children who are being educated in universities and so you don’t care, rethink.
When these guys on robbery expeditions, they don’t attack people like us who are trying to make ends meet. They attack the rich and their families.
Is the Narcotics Control Board still operating in Ghana? I don’t want to believe so. If indeed they are still operating then I dare say they are useless or corrupt.
Since when did you hear the NACOB arresting drug pushers in this country in recent memory? Are they telling us that the drug dealers have stopped importing and exporting these killer drugs?
Should we resign ourselves to fate whiles our children are killed softly through drug addiction? Our churches, mosques and traditional rulers have a role to play. Men of God and Imams should spend some time to preach to their congregation on the danger.
Traditional rulers should use their authorities to ban the use of these drugs in their domain. They cannot entirely end the menace, but at least a message will be sent out there that they are also concerned. I rest my case for now.
By Eric Bawah