Drug Abuse: Health Professionals Call For Holistic Approach

With FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

In order to curtail indiscriminate abuse of drugs and substance, some medical practitioners have advocated a holistic approach towards its eradication from the society.

The medical practitioners, Doctors Dokun Adedeji and Adeoye Oluwole gave this advice during a live radio interactive programme in Osogbo recently.

Dr. Oluwole, who is a practising Psychiatric and Consultant at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo called for the overhauling of the Act establishing the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) so that its core job would focus on launching massive campaigns to secondary schools and higher institutions of learning.

He stated that the NDLEA was just like another agency of the civil service where operatives just go about carrying guns and pushing chunks of files in their offices.

Dr. Adeoye maintained that the agency should establish a standard education department where they would undertake enlightenment campaigns to schools and involve parents, students, teachers and other sister government agencies.

Also, Dr. Adedeji called on the NDLEA, to localise its war on drugs, instead of embarking on interdiction.

According to him, “the NDLEA has done a fantastic job of fighting drug use at the international levels from the airports and borders but they have only succeeded in catching the minions because the real drug barons are in their comfortable offices from where they direct their operations.

“The western countries have given the agency all the gadgets they need in order to keep the drugs at home so that they won’t cross over to their side but this is not the solution.

“In this regard, I support Dr. Adeoye in that the war on drugs should be more local. The fight should be directed inward and not outwardly”.

The duo decried the situation where suspected drug users are chased away from schools and societies left on their own.

They stated that if chased out, they would go to other schools and set up another cell there.

“These groups of people need counselling and psychiatric treatment so that they will go forward in life.

“But how will they encourage these type of treatments when the society frowns at rehabilitation. When they see you in a psychiatric institution like the ones in Yaba, Lagos and Aro in Abeokuta, there is always a stigma attached to it”.