The Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) has announced a crackdown on pharmacists and individuals involved in the illegal sale and distribution of unprescribed drugs. The move comes amid growing concerns over rising drug abuse among young people in Ghana.

According to a recent report from NACOB, approximately 50,000 Ghanaians abuse drugs, with around 35,000 of them being students aged between 12 and 35 years.

This alarming trend has prompted calls for urgent action to identify the causes of substance abuse and find effective solutions.

Interior Minister, Muntaka Mubarak has urged religious leaders to play an active role in tackling the crisis, emphasising the impact of drug abuse on national development.

“We are moving away from the traditional drugs that we all know, and people are going into medications that we all know are useful and are tinkering with them. We want to urge you to help us in identifying what you can also do to help curb this menace,” he said.

As part of efforts to curb the illegal drug trade, NACOB has issued a strong warning to individuals involved in selling and consuming unapproved medications.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, NACOB Deputy Director General Twum Barima cautioned that those caught will face severe legal consequences, with no option for bail.

“Let’s do genuine trade, trade that is permitted by law. Don’t get yourself involved in something that if the law gets you, you will struggle to come out. Because as the saying goes, the law is no respecter of persons. It doesn’t know you to be a chief, it doesn’t know you to be a doctor, lawyer, or whoever if it gets you, it has gotten you.

“So please, if you are doing drug trade, sell only those that are permitted by law. If you are selling Red 225 or 50, be careful. You may think it is in your bag, nobody knows, it’s not on the counter we will know, and we will come after you. And when we arrest you, you will face the law. You think, ‘let me call somebody to get me bail or get me out,’ you will not get that assistance from anybody because once we arrest you, you are going to face the law.

“The best advice anybody can give you is to refrain from it. Those going for it, the best you can get from it is to destroy your own life, but I don’t want your lives to be destroyed," he warned.