The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) as part of its celebration of the 2023 World Drug Day has assured that there’s hope for drug addicts.
According to NACOC, no matter how one is addicted to drugs that individual can change, recover, and come back to society.
Speaking on this year’s theme, “People first, stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention”, the Head of Drug Demand Reduction, Central Regional Command, NACOC, Gifty Annan mentioned if society does not accept drug addicts and make them understand their situation, they cannot identify that there’s hope for them.
She, however, said such people should not be addressed as drug addicts but rather as ‘people with substance use disorder’ “so that, we tell them that there is hope, there is a cure.”
Madam Annan explained that people are lured into drugs on the basis that it will make them active and intelligent, having no idea the harm it will cause them.
She, therefore, called on all and sundry to stop discrimination and strengthen prevention.
Drug addiction is a complex issue that affects millions of people worldwide.
The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, or World Drug Day, is marked annually on June 26 to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving a world free of drug abuse.
United Nations (UN) World Drug Report 2023 shows that new data put the global estimate of people who inject drugs in 2021 at 13.2 million, 18 per cent higher than previously estimated.
Globally, over 296 million people used drugs in 2021, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous decade. The number of people who suffer from drug use disorders, meanwhile, has skyrocketed to 39.5 million, a 45 per cent increase over 10 years.
Madam Alice Erzah who is the Deputy Education Officer of the Central Regional Command, NACOC maintained that substance abuse is problematic because of its addictive nature, and must not be encouraged in any way.
Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Commission has cautioned that individuals caught cultivating, processing, manufacturing, trafficking, transporting and abusing drugs, especially cannabis will be made to face the law to deter others from doing the same.
In this regard, the Commission has called on substance addicts to get in touch with their resident counsellors who will assess their situation and provide necessary remedies to minimize the effects on them.
Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
