How far can we go in the war on drug abuse and trafficking?
Drug abuse and trafficking have proven very difficult to stamp it out once and for all largely to the billions of dollars flowing into the pockets of those involved. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- In Tanzania’s country statement at the 66th CND meeting in Vienna, Austria, in 2023, it was acknowledged that the period from 2018 to 2022 was particularly hectic as the nation experienced a surge in drug trafficking both within and into the country.
Drug abuse and trafficking is a global problem that has over time required collaborative international action. However, it has proven very difficult to stamp it out once and for all largely to the billions of dollars flowing into the pockets of those involved.
My concern is not whether at the global level this fight is successful or not. I am concerned about advocating supportive care as we help more and more people, especially the youth, to stay away from drug use and peddling and embrace a lifestyle of sobriety and abstinence.
Locally, numbers suggest that there is an increase in the rate of drug use, with more than 59 percent of drug addicts, as sampled by comprehensive cross-sectional research, admitting to having used drugs for the first time in their early youth years (15 to 24 years). Most of those in this group had used drugs for more than ten years upon reaching the age of 30 (Harrieth Ndumwa, et al. “Drug Use and Associated Factors in a North Eastern Region of Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study”, Pan African Medical Journal, 2022).
A similar increase is evident in a study conducted in 12 regions in 2018, with the rise being linked to an increase in HIV cases due to the sharing of syringes.
In Tanzania’s country statement at the 66th CND meeting in Vienna, Austria, in 2023, it was acknowledged that the period from 2018 to 2022 was particularly hectic as the nation experienced a surge in drug trafficking both within and into the country.
Statistics of confiscated drugs for that period included 176 tonnes of cannabis, 130 tonnes of khat, 3 tonnes of heroine, 38 kilogrammes of cocaine and half a tonne of methamphetamine, a new kind of drug imported from Southeast Asia. (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Statement of the United Republic of Tanzania, Vienna, 2023).
The focus here is not the frightening numbers, but the people behind those numbers. More illegal importation and peddling of drugs mean that there are more and more people using drugs, more young people introduced into the drugs chains as facilitators as well as users and as such, more destruction of our workforce, particularly because the increase is mostly among young people.
It is important that we recognise the importance of investing in prevention as the impact of drug use is far-reaching.
Drug use can be secretive, but the results are invariably public and hardly repairable. Stresses of life can be eased by other ways, particularly seeking professional help, and not by doing drugs. In the same way, earning a little from legitimate work is much better than risking one’s entire life and reputation by being involved in drug trafficking and possibly ending up in jail for a very long time.
The theme of global advocacy this year is “Breaking the Cycle, #stoporganizedcrime”. We cannot be of help unless we choose to voice our objection to drug use and teach those around us to stay away from drugs. Prevention is better than waiting to cure the effects.
We should also be wary of the normalisation of drug use. Music and movies have evolved to be tools used to promote substance abuse, which, apart from having a serious impact on health, has been closely associated with unsafe sex and promiscuity, which place those involved in danger of many other diseases.
It is important that this knowledge reaches our educating system from the grassroots. The fight against drugs should be an urgent undertaking if we hope to save our youth from the scourge. However, our support system for people who use drugs and those seeking recovery leaves a lot to be desired.
Nonetheless, we should treat those who are affected with love and care and help them in their journey to recovery. Ostracising them does not help, although it seems an easier solution, especially for parents who seek to protect their children from bad influence. The government should organise more advocacy programmes for groups most at risk, especially young people.
Shimbo Pastory is an advocate for positive social transformation and a student at the Loyola School of Theology of the Ateneo de Manila University, the Philippines. www.shimbopastory.com
