The Narcotics Control Commission has revealed that 47 percent of females from age 15 to 65 are engaged in drug abuse.
According to the Acting Director of Public Affairs and International Relations of the commission, Francis Opoku Amoah, the aforementioned rate was derived from figures at rehabilitation centers they had visited.
He was speaking during the commemoration of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking on June 26, under the theme, “People First: Stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention.”
“Previously, when we talk about drug abuse, you will think about men but now figures from the rehabilitation centers we visited revealed that fifty 53% of males between the ages of 15-65 are engaging in drug abuse while the remaining 47% are female But so far, male are still dominating drug abuse in the country,” he said.
Speaking on factors driving the surging rate, Mr. Amoah disclosed that peer pressure, adventurousness, ignorance, and exploratory behaviors are hugely responsible.
He has therefore implored the state to embark on education programs to sensitize the youth on the dangers of the act and also build more rehabilitation centers to accommodate the existing high rate of drug abusers.
Meanwhile, punishment for the perpetrators of the act has been reviewed, according to the Acting Director.
According to him, the previous law spelled imprisonment for the culprits but the new law makes provisions for rehabilitation programs with judges and doctors working together throughout the process.
“At first when one is arrested for engaging in hard drugs is arraigned before court and when found guilty, he or she is given five years imprisonment but now with the new law, people who are arrested for engaging in hard drugs, are taken to court and the judges together with doctors will have to examine the fellow and they will recommend if she or she should be taken to a rehabilitation center.”
Mr. Amoah has also advised women to quit relationships in which their partners lure them into the act.
Source: Dehotpress
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