Curbing drug use through prevention

As part of events to mark this year’s International Day against Drugs and Illicit Trafficking, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised the alarm that the emergence of new synthetic opioids and steady supply and demand of other drugs has worsened the impacts of the global drug problem, leading to an increase in drug use disorders and environmental harms. This was contained in the World Drug Report 2024 launched recently by the UNODC. The theme of this year’s event is “Evidence is clear: Let us invest in prevention.” “Drug production, trafficking, and use continue to exacerbate instability and inequality, while causing untold harm to people’s health, safety and well-being,” said Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of UNODC.
To curb global drug use, Waly says “we need to provide evidence-based treatment and support to all people affected by drug use, while targeting the illicit drug market and investing much more in prevention.” In Nigeria, the Country Representative of the UNODC, Danilo Campisi, has predicted that drug use in Africa, especially among the youths, will rise to 40 per cent by 2030. According to him, “projections show that by 2030, there will be a 40 per cent increase in the use of drugs in Africa, based on the population of young people. This is extremely concerning, if we consider that 2030 is only six years away.”
The report also shows that the number of people who use drugs has risen to 292 million in 2022, a 20 per cent increase over 10 years. With about 228 million users, cannabis remains the most widely used drug worldwide. It is quickly followed by opioids with not less than 60 million uses, amphetamines, 30 million users; cocaine, 23 million users; and ecstasy, 20 million users. According to the report, while an estimated 64 million people worldwide suffer from drug use disorders, only one in 11 is in treatment. Women receive less access to treatment than men, with only one in 18 women with drug use disorders in treatment versus one in seven men.
The report further revealed that in 2022, an estimated seven million people were in formal contact with the police (arrests, cautions, warnings) for drug offences, with about two-thirds of this total due to drug use or possession for use. Also, 2.7 million people were prosecuted for drug offences and over 1.6 million were convicted globally in 2022.
Similarly, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), has revealed that the ongoing offensive targeted at the assets of drug barons and cartels will considerably reduce drug use in the country. The NDLEA’s offensive, which was inaugurated in January 2021, led to the arrest and prosecution of several drug barons. “Our efforts have continued to achieve success given the painstaking investigations and diligence in prosecution. Our water-tight case preparations are unassailable. This has been further strengthened with our forfeiture regime with the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA 2022).
The agency’s War against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme has done extremely well to reduce drug demand. In keeping with this year’s theme, the prevention of drug abuse should be the responsibility of everyone. The war against illicit drugs and trafficking should not be left to NDLEA alone. The government and all stakeholders, including the community, religious organisations and traditional institutions must play their part to ensure that the consumption of illicit drugs is considerably reduced.
Recently, the NDLEA seized 20.76 kg of cocaine and methamphetamine worth N4.1billion in Aba, Abia State and 82,000 of codeine-based syrup worth over N600 million in Kirikiri area of Lagos State. In the same vein, the agency seized 390 kg of cannabis in Ogun State. In Edo State, it has destroyed about 10, 534.78kg of cannabis on some hectares of farmland in Uhen Forest in Ovia North-East council of the state. The agency has equally recorded similar exploits in a thick forest in Ise Ekiti in Ekiti State, Kano State and the Federal Capital Territory.
Also, the Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) the other day disclosed that it intercepted about N4.2 billion worth of illicit drugs at the Lagos port. According to the Comptroller-General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, the drugs were imported from Canada and India. The drugs included cannabis indica, and codeine syrup containing cocaine. We commend the NDLEA boss in his giant strides to rid the country of illicit drugs use and urge him to step up the drug reduction and prevention campaigns.