Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), says the fight against the rising threat of drug abuse among young people in the country must involve all stakeholders.
He said, addressing the menace demanded collective effort from all members of society, as tackling hard drugs was a shared responsibility that called for schools, families, traditional authorities, alumni, and private partners to work together as an integrated ecosystem of protection.
Brig Gen Mantey was speaking at the Benkum Senior High School’s Reunion and Fundraising event for a physical education and fitness centre, which was held in Akuapem Larteh.
The event was mainly to raise funds to build an ultra-modern sports complex to nurture future leaders who are mentally sharp, physically fit and emotionally resilient.
The Director-General of NACOC said in Ghana today, substances such as tramadol, Red 225, synthetic opioids, cannabis and other new psychoactive substances were threatening the lives of the youths.
He noted that NACOC had intensified its education and prevention programmes in schools and communities across the country to ensure that the advocacy against the indiscriminate usage of hard drugs among the youth, especially among students in schools was achieved.
Brig. Gen. Mantey said NACOC was mandated to implement preventive education, calling on all and sundry, especially students, to be the first line of defence and remember that prevention was always cheaper and more sustainable than rehabilitation.
He urged students to protect their minds and guard their ambitions by remaining focused on their education to enable them to become useful in the society in which they may find themselves.
“We must treat the hard drug abuse menace among the youth as a public-private partnership, where effort must be put in place to turn the narrative into a force for sustainable youth empowerment,” he said.
Mr David Owusu, the Chairman of the Occasion, urged students to abstain from all forms of nefarious acts that would impede their future aspirations but focus on their studies to enable them to attain good grades.
The event was also graced by Mr. Alexander Twum-Barimah, the Deputy Director-General of NACOC in charge of Enforcement, Control and Elimination.
