A Clinical Psychologist, Dr Vincent Adzika Agbemenya, has stated that the most abused drug in the country by the youth is tramadol.
He said shisha was the second, while marijuana was the third most abused drug by the youth.
Dr Agbemenya, who was speaking at a sensitisation forum for students of the Okuapeman Senior High Schools in the Akuapem North District of the Eastern Region, said a research conducted came out that out of every 10 adolescents that were sampled, especially if they were in the university, six of them were on a drug or something that made the person overreact.
Out of the six, he said, two were ladies, and four were boys.
Dr Agbemenya, who is also a mental health expert, said in Ghana now “we have closed from 25 to 50 per cent of Ghanaian youth who are on drugs”.
He said 50 per cent of young men and women in the northern part of the country were on drugs.
The symposium formed part of this year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, and it was organised by the Chief of Mamfe, Nana Ansah Sasraku III, through his JAPO RED Foundation in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC).
Dr Agbemenya said drugs were very addictive and difficult to stop, and also had a long-time stigma.
He, therefore, used the occasion to ask students battling addiction to voluntarily come forward for assistance.
Background
The JAPO RED Foundation is a non-profit organisation established to raise awareness about the dangers of illicit drug use and its potential mental health consequences, particularly among young people and students.
The inspiration behind the Foundation came from the life story of the late Samuel Kwabena Mfoafo Akuffo-Parry, affectionately known as JAPO RED, a royal of Mamfe, Akuapem.
The Manfehene, Nana Ansah Sasraku III, stressed the need to create homes, schools and communities where people felt safe enough to ask for help before they made irreversible choices.
The students at the symposium
He said young people who felt seen, heard, loved and valued were far less likely to seek comfort in drugs.
As traditional leaders, Nana Sasraku said, “We reaffirm our commitment to work hand in hand with the NACOC, the GES, health professionals, civil society organisations, faith-based organisations and development partners to build communities where every young person has the opportunity to thrive.”
“Let the story of JAPO RED not end with sorrow; let it become a beacon of hope, let it become a warning, let it become a reason why another young person chooses life instead of drugs,” the Mamfehene stressed.
For his part, the Director of Operations at the NACOC, Solomon Stanley Eyo, said issues of drugs were not fantasies but realities.
As future leaders, he said, “You cannot progress in life if you start using drugs at this age.”
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem North, Sammi Awuku, for his part, advised the students to decide how to leave their lives after school.
That, he explained, was because they were the drivers of their destiny.
