The child rights activists staged a one-day march recently to create awareness on the effects of illicit drugs on young people and the society at large.
Speaking during the petition program at the Office of the Township Commissioner in Coffee Farm, the founder of the Mind Campaigners, Ahmed Paasewe, disclosed that there is an alarming rise of illicit substances in the Township of Caldwell which, according to him, is negatively impacting the health and social welfare of young people in the Township.
Paasewe said the use of harmful drugs is also endangering the development, growth and progress of children in the Township, citing that the societal ill is damaging the moral fabric of the family and the Township to a larger extent.
The child right activists lamented that the use of illicit substances contributes to other societal crimes, including money laundering, arms smuggling and terrorism, amongst other, harmful act.
He stressed that addressing the issue of illicit drugs will help curtail other vices in the Township.
Paasewe called on the leadership of the Township, the Representative of District #11 and the Government at large to exert all efforts to eradicate the importation, processing, trafficking and use of illicit substances in Caldwell.
Meanwhile, the Clerk of the Office of the Township Commissioner, Joseph Myers, termed the use of illicit substances as one of the anti-social behaviors that is affecting young people as well as destroying the fabric of society.
Myers, who received the petition on behalf of the Township Commissioner, asserted that most of the young people in Caldwell are now engaged in drug and substance abuse, adding that the problem needs to be addressed on a timely basis to save the lives and future of the young people.
He assured the youths that the office of the Commissioner will collaborate closely with the necessary institutions; the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and the Liberia National Police (LNP) to curtail the use of illicit drugs in the Township.
Myers pointed out that the fight against drugs is complicated due to the fact that most of those involved in the importation, trafficking and sales of illicit drugs are influential people.
“We have to be very careful how we fight against drugs because there are big hands involved with the production, trafficking and sale of drugs,” he emphasized.
“Do not forget that those people that are in the act of substance abuse are from homes. We, therefore, need to extend our advocacy to the various homes so that we can talk to parents to help in the process of providing counseling to their children and relatives against drugs abuse,” Myers noted.
LINA