Ghana: Substance Abuse- A Weapon of Mass Destruction

Tramadol is said to be manufactured by Indian pharma companies and sold in Ghana and other African countries

Cape Coast, Central Region, Ghana, March 21, 2019//-In recent times, substance abuse has become a common phenomenon globally and Ghana as a country has gotten its fair share of this growing menace.

 According to the 2018 World Drug Report, about 275 million people between the ages of 15 to 64 years used drugs at least once in 2016 worldwide with about 31 million users suffering from Substance Use Disorders (SUD)- meaning their use is harmful to the point where treatment is needed. Addiction is a unique and complex disease that, like other mental disorders, usually requires the intervention of a healthcare professional to properly manage. It is a chronic disease that often gets worse the longer it goes untreated. Thankfully, our addiction treatment center in South Florida has the type of clinical and holistic treatments that can dramatically improve a person’s life and help to stop the endless cycle of addiction which according to Recovery Delivered, needs to come to an end.

At Legacy Healing Center’s addiction treatment center, Tampa rehabs provide proven clinical strategies to treat addiction, including the principals suggested by NIDA. Another important part of effective treatment is addressing the multiple needs of a patient, not just their addiction. This whole-patient approach is what you’ll find at our addiction treatment center. Along with behavioral therapy, we help our patients with legal issues, their health, family dynamics, and their career.

There is the likelihood of this alarming figures soaring with the emerging trend of other New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) if no intervention is made to defuse this ticking time bomb before it explodes and wipes out our future generation.

First, there is the need for us to know and understand what substance abuse means as well as why people abuse substances and its effects. This is not the only medicine people are abusing, theirs the popular, the Nitrous oxide in pressurised silver containers and balloons. Laughing gas, ‘hippy crack, Nos. Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas used by dentists as a sedative

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), substance abuse is the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances (including alcohol and illicit drugs) which can lead to dependence syndrome (a cluster of behavioral, psychological and physiological phenomena resulting from repeated substance use characterized by a strong desire or urge to take the substance and persistent usage despite the harmful effects).

In simple terms, substance abuse is the repeated and excessive use of psychoactive substances for non-medical reasons but mainly for mood altering purposes.

Substances as used, refer to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (licit and illicit drugs). They also include other stuff that are necessarily not ‘drugs’ yet can give a psychoactive effect. Example; glue, nail polish, thinner, petrol, sanitary pads, correction fluid, among others.

Abuse simply is, not using the substance for its intended purpose or taking more than prescribed. Health officials consider ‘use’ as abuse when the continuous use leads to impairments such as health issues, lack of control, injuries, accidents, not meeting responsibilities or targets.

For instance, if you drink enough alcohol to get drunk, hangover or skip work, school, meetings then your ‘alcohol use’ is at the ‘abuse’ level, especially if you are driving. If you are ever caught driving under the influence, a drunk driving charge will be filed in your county or city court. According to a dwi attorney, the DUI offenders are required to appear in court and when they are arrested they will receive a ticket which states their BAC. If you’re facing your first DUI, the levels of these penalties are typically low, albeit still very damaging. A criminal record with a DUI can prevent you from living the life that you want, and it exists forever, Click here to find out more about DUI attorney.

A BAC of .15% results in a maximum fine of $250 for a first offense. $250 can be increased to $500 for a second offense. $500 can be increased to $1,000 for a third and fourth offense. The maximum fine increase for a fifth or subsequent offense is $2,000, you should talk to a dui attorney to get all the information you need.

Several psychoactive substances are abused in Ghana, the common ones are alcohol, marijuana (weed), tobacco, cocaine, tramadol (tramol), codeine, pethidine. A survey by the Ghana Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (GOFAS) estimated that the per capital consumption of alcohol is 1.5 liters (about 7 million gallons of pure alcohol are consumed annually in Ghana).

The figure increased to 5.4 liters in 2015 according to the World Bank collection of development indicators. Marijuana (weed) continues to be the most abused illegal substance in Ghana with an average age of first use between 10 to 12 years (Brown Acquaye, 2001) and over 192 million users globally.

The use of inhalants like glue, bleach, thinner, nail polish is also gradually gaining roots in our dear country.

Inhalants are chemicals found in some household products that are huffed or inhaled directly through the sinus giving an immediate ‘kick’ or ‘rush’ and a stimulating effects, however, inhaling for long results in dazing.

According to the United States Administrative Office of the Courts, in 2002, 40 deaths in the US were linked to inhalant abuse and about 55% of these deaths were caused by Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome (SSDS) which can occur after only one use (about 22% of the abusers who died were first time users).

Teens and children abuse inhalants more than adults however, they may continue the use into adulthood. About 60,000 children in Nairobi, Kenya live on the streets and all are almost addicted to some sort of inhalants (Drug Free World Foundation).

So why do people abuse these substances? Several reasons and factors may lead a person to abuse any of these substances.

These factors may be determined by age, gender, occupation, environment, culture and traditions among others. A child may use any of these substances out of curiosity and experimentation due to the wide availability- (the fridge that stores fruit juice stores beer).

An adolescent, however, may also use these substances just to cope or fit in. Peer pressure, poor parental care, higher performance, escaping realities, killing boredom, anxiety, unemployment may also be other reasons why people abuse substances.

There are several adverse effects of substance abuse. Socially, substance abuse may result in loss of family and friends ties, stigmatization, and loss of positive self-image.

It can also lead to loss of employment or livelihood resulting in financial burden (cost of maintaining the lifestyle) which may lead to committing of petty crimes such as burglary.

Adolescents who engage in substance abuse are likely to drop out of school and lose their future ambitions. Rape, kidnapping, robbery, gang fight and other forms of crimes are sometimes perpetrated by substance abusers when they get intoxicated.

Health implications such as mental illness (Substance Use Disorders, anxiety, depression), kidney damage, liver diseases, cardiovascular problems, respiratory diseases among others may also result from substance abuse.

It can also lead to accidents, injuries and sometimes death. According to WHO, roughly 450,000 people died as a result of substance use in 2015 and 167,750 of those deaths were related to Substance Use Disorders (mainlyfrom overdose).

Way forward

Parental involvement (coming from a dual-parent family) reduces teen rates of marijuana use (Doku, Koivusilta & Rimpela, 2012). This means that children from ‘warm’ homes with a high sense of parental monitoring and control are less likely to engage in substance abuse.

Therefore, parents should find time to speak to their children about the dangers of substance abuse. Doing so in a loving and caring manner is one way of preventing the rise of substance abuse cases among teens in the country.

There is the need for a nationwide sensitization program aimed at exposing every citizen to the dangerous effects of substance abuse and we need to talk about the possible treatments, Click this link for more treatment information: https://www.sjrp.com/.

Therefore, lead agencies such as NCCE, NACOB and FDA should be equipped by the Government with the necessary logistics and resources to enable them embark on such assignment.

National Media Commission (NMC), National Communication Authority (NCA) and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) should also join in the fight by advising all media houses to have a slot in their airwaves dedicated to the broadcasting of media-based substance use prevention campaigns or programs to counter the numerous adverts and remarks on these substances that have already clouded the airwaves.

Consultations should be made by the Government and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to include scientific and Evidence-based Substance Use Prevention topics and programs in the Basic Educational Curriculum. Schools should also be encouraged to form Anti-Drug Abuse Clubs and Societies where pupils and students can partake in Anti-Drug Abuse activities and provide Drug Abuse Treatment for those who might need it.

The new Narcotics Bill should be passed into law by parliament to enhance the activities of NACOB the lead agency responsible for enforcing drug laws in the country.

Lastly, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) should be considered as a health issue rather than a moral one and avoid stigmatizing people living with the disorder but rather show them love and advise them to seek medical help. I will again call on the Government, private entities, and religious groups to help establish rehabilitation centers across the country to rehabilitate and treat people living with Substance Use Disorders.

And as the late Kofi Annan puts it “… if you think you and your family are immune to the drug problem, think again! Drugs are not a problem solely for the poor, rich minorities or inner city residents, the drug problem affects everyone”.

By Rees Hakeem Oduro, a concerned Ghanaian living in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana

Email: reeskofi@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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