Possession and trafficking of illegal drugs carry stiff penalties for anyone caught using and dealing with substances. For as long as history has been recorded society has been striving to tackle the issue of drug possession, trafficking, and abuse. Numerous methods have been applied, though the strategies vary in different countries globally, yet the most popular and universally used method has been and still is incarceration- long-termimprisonment and in some cases deathwhich is all aimed to deter other people from joining the trade.
Powerful nations and or wealthy nations declared waron drugs. Billions if not trillions of hard currency spent to tackle the drug issue, its possession, trafficking, and abuse. But the so-called war on drugs woefully failed. Sadly,its greatest casualties were the downthrown –poor people – a lot were sent to prisons whiles some were killed the drug trade flourished
It is an open secret that drug barons desire to make west Africa the hub for the drug tradebecause they are aware of the numerous challenges the region faces, like the many porous entrypoints, the lack of adequate and effective security to man those many porous enter points, lack of effective modern equipment to identify illegal drugs or substances even at the official enter points Manned by security forces. The too much compromise by some top law enforcement officials with illegal drug or substance traders has compounded the illegal issue in most West African countries
It’s ironing whilst the wealthy nations are moving away from punitive laws to harm reduction, scientifically evidence-based laws, and policies with a human right approach poor west African nations have all embraced punitive laws and policies based on traditions, culture, and religious beliefs andembarked war against drugs a mission impossible. Sadly, the core is victims of these drug policies and laws as the down-trending youths are all over our prisons for a tinny particle of drugs found in their possession thus end users are in their dozens languishing in our so-called correctional centers in our countries, and unfortunate situation that makes the future doomed for them this youth ought to be in rehabs centers for treatment and counseling as a west African Drug Policy Network demandsthe big fish or drug barons should be caught in the
net and faced the music to get them out of the drug business and not the poor people, we, therefore, called on the government to spread the net wide to catch the big fishes-those in influence and affluence, those making millions of hard currencies out of illegal drug trade in our country. Whilst the issue of the end-users (poor youths) should be considered as a health issue, not incarceration.
I hope somebody is listening!!
Saa Matthias D BENDU
CEO- Hope for the Vulnerable
