DRUG and substance abuse came to the fore in recent years, reaching a crescendo last year
when the Government declared that the problem had become a public health concern that
required more attention to safeguard the well-being of the country’s youth and future.
Government officials then acknowledged mostly during events to mark the National Youth
Month and Day commemorated every February that many youths were experiencing
permanent mental, physical and emotional health problems.
This was demonstrated by the numbers that were flooding mental health facilities in the
country which do not boast proper drug rehabilitation facilities.
In response, the Government came up with the National Inter-Ministerial Committee on
Drugs and Substance Abuse headed by the Ministries of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare, and Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation. Similar committees were to cascade down to
the provinces with one of the technical working group's five pillars being supply reduction
led by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Being in charge of law-enforcement, the working group
was expected to apprehend drug peddlers and those caught abusing or in possession.
This is what we witnessed countrywide as the police threw a curtain of roadblocks, targeting
those in possession, found transporting or dealing in drugs and illicit substances.
While for the law enforcement agents, this was part of work-in-progress, it is heartening to
note that the police have escalated their operations in this regard with the launch of the
campaign “No to Dangerous Drugs and Illicit Substances”.
The number of arrests, quantities and variety of drugs and illicit substances recovered during
the start of the exercise speaks to the magnitude of the problem and that law-enforcement has
touched the nerve centre. As a measure of the extent of the problem, the youths are reportedly
turning virtually most household necessities into substances that can be abused.
The debate is on as to whether the police action was too late, but it's pertinent to point out
that it's a start which might lead to arresting and possibly reversing the trend.
It is obvious that pockets of markets for dangerous drugs and illicit substances have been hit
and are already feeling the heat with the impact becoming more profound with time.
With social media making it easier for members of the public to anonymously provide tips on
drug dens, it only remains for the law-enforcement agents to act decisively against those
behind this menace. Police determined effort in this war will erase doubts that some police
details might be complicit.
It is possible. Dealing in drugs and substances abuse can be stopped, thereby safeguarding the
well-being of the countrys population, economy and future.
