The Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has expressed worry at the increasing use of drugs, including cannabis, among the youth across the country.

He indicated that this development threatens the peace and future of the country, gauging the rate at which the youth engage in and abuse drugs, robbing them of productive periods.

During a two-day official visit to the Volta Region, Mr Mubarak entreated stakeholders to forge synergy to curb the menace.

“The level of drug usage by our youth is getting to an alarming proportion, and I, as the in-charge of the Narcotics Boards Commission and His Excellency [President Mahama], we are very much concerned”, he said.

He noted that the Ministry, with the backing of the government, aims at tackling the source of the drugs by focusing on where the drugs are being cultivated, adding that the Volta Region had been identified as a hub for cannabis cultivation and processing.

He entreated stakeholders to use their various platforms to preach against the use of drugs and cooperate with the relevant institutions undertaking anti-drug operations, so that all cannabis cultivation points are destroyed, to safeguard the country's future.

“In fact, Nigeria and other countries are beginning to complain, because in Nigeria they have a brand they call 'Ghana'. Because they parcel it with Ghana’s flag. I am sorry to say, many of them are coming from this region.

“And now the United Nations’ office on drugs and crime is getting concerned that, as a government, we are not fighting enough. So, please, bear with us when you see our officers carrying those may operations”, he appealed.

The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, called for renewed commitment towards the drug war, urging stakeholders to revive imbibing family values into the children and ensure strict monitoring of the youth in the various communities.

“We want all of us to collaborate and fight this menace so that we can be free because it is a danger to society if people are living on drugs”, he said, lamenting the effects of the use of opioids on the youth.