General News of Sunday, 15 October 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

I finished BECE with straight ones but look at me - Drug addict admits he needs help

Former Bishop Herman College turned drug addict play videoFormer Bishop Herman College turned drug addict

A compelling video has gone viral featuring a former Bishop Herman College student who achieved outstanding academic success in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) with straight "1s" in most subjects but struggled with drug addiction.

In the video, the remorseful individual, identified as Prince, admitted his descent into drug abuse, revealing the factors that led him down this troubling path.

He recounted: “I went to Bishop Herman College on a scholarship from the District Assembly. I had 1 throughout, but only French gave me a grade of 4 at Junior High. So, the DCE invited me one-on-one and told me to just go to school. I went to school and I met a colleague and this is me today,” he said.

Despairingly, he revealed how his dreams of becoming a legal practitioner had been shattered by the devastating effects of drug addiction.

In his narrative, he highlighted the insidious progression from marijuana to other hard drugs such as cocaine.

“From the weed, you aggravate. You cannot just stand up and go to cocaine, you start from the weed and little by little, you get to cocaine. As I speak to you now, I have to spend GH¢ 500 every day on these drugs, and you must get it else you will not be able to experience even erection," he said.

He continued: “You see what I do, I hate doing it. This is not what I wanted to do, going around picking scraps, no. I had dreams of becoming a legal practitioner but look at how shattered my dreams have become. Sometimes I see my teachers and I ask them why they didn't tell us the effects of drugs. They taught me everything but not drugs. At least sensitise us on it. Perhaps if you guys converge for an assembly or meeting, you tell the students every day."

Prince expressed his desire to break away from the grip of addiction.

“All I want now is to get free, I need rehabilitation,” he cried out.

Meanwhile, Pastor Elvis Agyemang, convener of Alpha Hour, has donated GH¢12,000 towards seeking a rehabilitation program for Prince who went viral on social media.

The move by the clergy came after a video of Prince, emerged on social media. He said in the video that he was struggling with addiction and called for support from civil society organizations in the rehabilitation ecosystem.

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.



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