As human beings cannot be put in the waste bin, persons who use drugs cannot, as well, be trashed. This means we need to accommodate one another and figure out the best possible ways to make lives better and comfortable for all. Persons who actively use drugs and persons on rehabilitation should neither be victimised nor stigmatised by their actions. Rather, their rights as individuals should be respected. They should be considered as equals in the society. With no form of bias or discrimination, we can live in peace, love and unity.
Drug control policies are not producing intended results in Nigeria. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), a federal agency, is tasked to enforce laws promulgated against cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of hard drugs and investigating persons suspected to have dealings in drugs.
The NDLEA aims to eradicate cannabis as it is considered illegal. Unfortunately, these laws only promote illegal use of drug and increase the number of young people who engage in problematic drug use, thereby having negative impacts on the society.
Recently, news broke that the National Assembly is making effort to amend the NDLEA Act, with the aim to empower the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to step up sensitisation campaigns on the effects of drug use, its disorder and the steps to take to realize successful treatments for persons in recovery.
This is a good development. However, there is more work to be done judging from the present challenges we face which include mass incarceration, drug related violence, insecurity, corruption and public health risks. The present proposal made to increase tariffs on alcohol and tobacco products so as to discourage its use would likely do more harm than good in Nigeria.
Criminal justice system in Nigeria is inefficient as a result of inadequate funding of safe consumption facilities to cater for persons in recovery. Also, there are cases of many persons awaiting trials for non-violent drug offenses, congestion of prisons and non-implementation of good drug policy reforms.
How can we help persons with drug use disorder? This can be achieved by having cordial relationships with them. We should always see great potentials in these persons rather than regard them as drug addicts. Government should support them by setting out strategies that would promote their well being and safety.
Going forward, one of our prominent leaders and former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has been making positive moves by advocating that our government should rethink the nation’s drug policy. Obasanjo is the chairman of West African Commission on Drugs (WACD) and a signatory to the new report released by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which states that: “The current attitude of stigmatising drugs is hindering effective policy making; the government should be talking about ‘harm reduction’ rather than criminalisation.”
Good measures and treatment facilities should be provided for persons who use drugs. There is the need to promote favorable drug policies at both local and national levels in order to reduce its harms and improve our safety as a whole.
In line with this, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Nigeria is established with the aim to utilise student activism and set grassroots strategies to reform drug policies in our country. We are dedicated to ending the war on drugs as we believe that the war on drugs is a war on us.
- Odunola is a board member of Students For Sensible Drug Policy in Nigeria
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