Combat Drug Scourge Aggressively -P4DP Urges Govt. to Embark on Common Sense Strategies

By H Matthew Turry

MONROVIA – Midst the alarming upsurge of drug abuse among the young people in the country, a local non-governmental group, the Platform for Dialogue and Peace (P4DP), has urged the government to take more aggressive and realistic actions to curb the menace through appropriate funding and forging partnership with credible institutions in the country.

In a press statement issued yesterday, Executive Director James Suah Shilue said P4DP views the situation as not just a drug problem but a national emergency that must be addressed without delay, stressing that the country’s huge population of young people estimated at 63% being under 25 years which should be an added advantage for development is rapidly turning into a national burden.

“An estimated 2 in every 10 young Liberians are addicted to narcotic substances, with the rate higher in densely populated and economically marginalized communities in Monrovia,” Shilue said. “The faces of addiction are now as common as those of school children. They linger on street corners, squat in cemeteries, and drift through ghettos, their futures dissolving in clouds of Kush smoke and Tramadol haze.”

The P4DP leaders said these are the ‘New Youth’ above 35-50 years, sometimes referred to as ‘Veterans, Brabee, Dr. Prof’- navigating life with organized spree and respectfully greetings as they roam free in the blocks, the crag and the barracks where real ones confide.

The group historicized that Liberia’s drug crisis did not begin just suddenly but emanated from the protracted war years which has now been dragged to ghettos and street corners and in some cases, in open spaces in communities.

It said during the series of wars fought between 1989 to 2003, young children constricted in the folds of the various warring factions were drugged with deadly substances such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin, etc. by warlords to numb fear and conscience, thereby making them callous to kill, maim and destroy lives and properties.

The release lamented that despite billions spent during Liberia’s Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DDRR) programs, mental health services and drug treatment were woefully underfunded resulting in thousands of ex-fighters with untreated trauma and lingering addictions re-entering society unequipped for peace.

The group said further: “Today’s young addicts are not war veterans but rather students, job seekers, motorcyclists, petty traders, car loaders and even teenage mothers. The war veterans and neglected youth re-entry into the society came with a new wave of addiction. Drugs and alcohol are used to cope with stress, anxiety and depression. So, in and around the streets of Monrovia, we are seeing the proliferation of different substances, including Kush, Tramadol which is widely available over-the-counter in most pharmacies, Heroin and cocaine, smuggled through land borders and seaports and “Canyan” – marijuana-laced food sold on school campuses to “Supreme boys and Supreme girls.”

While urging the government to learn from other countries like Rwanda and Tanzania that have implemented successful national rehabilitation programs that integrate trauma healing and vocational training, P4DP said Liberia needs to work with diverse stakeholders in the fight against substance abuse and forge partnership with credible CSOs working with “At-risk youth”, including commercial motorcyclists, Youth in artisanal gold mining communities, Community-based rehabilitation, and rule of law education, etc.

The Executive Director commended the organizers for the “Say No to Drugs” March and asserted that beyond the campaign, “we need a radical National Rescue Plan (NRP), which includes setting up community drop-in centres and recreational facilities, training and supporting peer mentors from within ghettos, engaging religious, traditional, and local leaders, including drugs and substance abuse in our basic and primary education curriculum”.

At the policy level, the civil society group noted, there is a need to create a National Drug Rehabilitation and Recovery Strategy (NDR&RS), which should be funded by the government and partners and jointly implemented by government and NGOs.

“Further, we need to establish or fund any existing national drug detoxification and counselling centre, strengthen border surveillance and crackdown on rogue pharmacies, integrate mental health services into primary healthcare and invest in youth employment programs to address the root causes of substance abuse,” the group said further in the release.

It stated: “As we think in this direction, let’s understand that rehabilitation is one of the best wars to fight substance abuse but not only locking addicts up in jail. Substance use is a public health issue, not a moral failure. Punitive measures alone have failed, evident by the overcrowded prisons and the lack of skill training opportunities.”

According to the non-state actor, Liberia needs trauma-informed rehabilitation centres, transitional housing, and reintegration programs that give recovering youth a second chance. There must also be public investment in vocational training, creative arts, sports, storytelling, and entrepreneurship—positive outlets that offer alternatives to drugs”, the release concluded.

P4DP is the local partner for Peace in Our Cities (PiOC), a reputable organization committed to violence reduction by working with diverse network and members to address severe forms of violence.