The Narcotics Control Commission (NARCOC) in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission is implementing some strategies as part of efforts to control and prevent illicit drug trafficking and abuse in the country.
The issue of illicit drug trafficking and abuse control measures, according to NARCOC, has become necessary due to its constant threat to the security and stability of nations.
Addressing the media at a workshop to roll out and validate the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) in Accra, a representative of the Board Chairman of the Narcotics Control Commission, Aba Jacqueline Opoku, intimated that the master plan was necessary to curb the challenge of the drug trade and abuse in the country.
“As illicit drug trafficking and use continue to threaten the health and security of our communities, the situation calls for more pragmatic, efficient, and effective actions to stem the tide,” she said.
Speaking on the collaboration between NARCOC and ECOWAS in the implementation of the NDCMP, Mrs. Aba Opoku added, “The Narcotics Control Commission has, with the help of the ECOWAS Commission designed the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) as a blueprint document which renews and advances our efforts to counter the substance abuse threat that contributes to cost our nation lives and money each year on prevention and treatment.”
Representing the Commissioner of Social Affairs and Gender at the workshop, the ECOWAS Permanent Representative in Ghana, Ambassador Baba Gana Wakil, intimated that aside from drug abuse, illicit drug trafficking, and related crimes which constitute one of the socio-economic and security challenges in several countries, the ECOWAS region is also exposed to arms trafficking, human trafficking, and other crimes.
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According to him, criminals who engage in these transnational crimes use the huge profit accrued from the illegal activities to corrupt the system of governance which threatens states’ security and stability of the ECOWAS region, hence, the ECOWAS Commission is relentless in the engaging Member States in finding solutions to illicit trafficking and other organized crimes in the region.
Also speaking at the workshop, the Acting Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission, Kenneth Adu Amanfoh, indicated that the National Drug Control Master Plan was developed as an innovative blueprint document to deal with the national problem of substance abuse through a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach.
He further added that the NDCMP aims at protecting and improving the well-being of society and individuals by promoting public health as well as a high level of security for the public.
