Decriminalisation – the common sense solution to the problem of drugs that has been proposed by everyone from Kofi Annan to Blakk Rasta, but which stubborn and hypocritical legislators refuse to act on.
Both marijuana and alcohol are substances that alter the body’s brain chemistry – ergo, drugs. Yet we jail people for merely possessing one and do nothing about the other.
Being addicted to a substance is something that merits treatment, not jail – the The Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, has said.
Speaking to the media in Accra on Friday, Sarpong said the way forward is to understand the pressures that can push someone into drug use, thus they needed to be helped rather than jailed.
He said nobody was ever jailed for abusing alcohol.
“What is so sinful about a young man who is unfortunately involved in problematic substance use… what is the difference between him and someone who is an alcoholic?” he wondered.
“Why is that we are spending so much money on people who smoke one roll and remanding them in prison. That is an onslaught on conscience… Sometimes they don’t do it because they are bad. They do it because of peer pressure.”
Sarpong added that the board is lobbying for changes to Ghana’s drug laws to reflect that position, which is seeking help for users rather than throwing them in jail.
“When we engaged the MPs, our position was this; first time user, warn the person, an administrative warning. It must be recorded. You must sit him down and let him understand the consequences. What is the essence of arresting him if you don’t let him know the consequences?
“The second time, warn him again. The third time fine him, an administrative fine, very meagre – GHc50. But the fourth time, it means that there is likely to be a problem, divert him to a drug treatment centre.” he added.
He couldn’t be more right.

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