The Deputy Director of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Alexander Twum-Barima, has cautioned that the illicit drug trade has become increasingly common in tertiary institutions and training colleges across the country.

He disclosed that this development was uncovered through a nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, which mapped patterns of drug use and distribution within educational environments.

“I remember we met my brother, Opare-Addo (Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment), and he was giving us a research or a survey that they had conducted. I can say without fear that the presence of drugs in our tertiary institutions, what I mean by tertiary, is the likes of the Nursing Training Schools, Teacher Training Schools, the Universities, among others, is getting so high,” he said on Super Morning Show on JoyFm on Thursday, June 25.

Adding that “One would have thought that it is outsiders who are bringing it in, but from what we have just arrested some few days ago, the Central University students, it is clear that the students are becoming the vendors or the ones who are leading the sales of these things in the schools.”

According to him, the findings point to a worrying normalisation of drug-related activities within academic spaces, raising concerns about student welfare and institutional discipline.

Mr Twum-Barima called for a strengthened collaborative response involving state agencies, educational authorities and community stakeholders to confront the menace in a more coordinated manner.

He further emphasised the need for rehabilitation-focused interventions, stressing that efforts must also prioritise the recovery and reintegration of young people already affected by drug dependence, alongside enforcement measures.Source: Albert Kuzor