The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has urged the government to broaden its approach to combating drug abuse by targeting substances that are easily accessible to young people in communities.
The Bishops say the national focus on high-profile narcotics such as cocaine risks overlooking the widespread use of tramadol, marijuana, “Red” and other readily available substances that are increasingly affecting the country’s youth.
President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, said the scale of abuse of these substances required urgent intervention through stronger controls on their availability and supply.
According to him, young people in both rural and urban communities are increasingly turning to drugs, with serious consequences for their lives and communities.
“In our villages and towns, we know the young men and women have taken to drugs—tramadol, ‘Red’, marijuana—and this is destroying many, many young men and women,” he said.
Most Rev. Gyamfi said the national drug-control strategy should therefore extend beyond the interception of major narcotics to include substances that are more readily available to young people.
“You should not concentrate only on drugs like cocaine, which is used, but not as massively as marijuana, tramadol, ‘Red’ and other similar drugs that are readily available on the shelves, and young people just go for it,” he stated.
He called for stronger laws and enforcement measures to restrict the importation and illegal sale of such substances, particularly those that find their way onto the market and become easily accessible to young people.
“They should make laws to ban the importation of these drugs and ensure that they are cleared away from the shelves,” he said.
The Bishops’ Conference said addressing the availability of commonly abused substances should form an important part of the country’s broader response to drug trafficking and substance abuse.
The call also highlights the need for greater preventive efforts aimed at protecting young people from the social and developmental consequences associated with drug abuse.
