Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, has appealed to the government to check the booming aphrodisiac drugs in the country which have negative health implications for users.

He made the appeal in a contribution to a statement in Parliament on Friday to mark the World Drug Day which falls on every June 26.

Mr Atta Akyea said the possession and use of narcotic drugs have been criminalised but the recent trend of ageing men resorting to the use of aphrodisiac drugs to enhance their sexual competence was very worrying because such ‘artificial’ sexual potency could lead to heart attacks.

“Mr speaker, I know we may be talking about narcotic drugs but the abuse of some drugs like the aphrodisiac drugs and antibiotics is gaining currency in the country and must be checked,” he underscored.

According to the Abuakwa South MP, it is common now to see men of age 50 years and above frequently patronising aphrodisiac drugs just to show their sexual ‘power’.

“Mr Speaker, if you are a man of say 54 years and go for an aphrodisiac drug and jump on an 18-year-old lady you may end up having serious health crisis,” he said.

Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, however, stood on a point of order and asked the Abuakwa South MP to withdraw his sweeping argument that as men grow old, they become weaker in bed because he knows of some ‘old’ men who do not use aphrodisiac drugs but are very ‘powerful’ in bed.

MP for Sekondi, Paapa Owusu-Ankomah, said there was the need to strengthen and resource the Narcotics Control Board to be able to effectively fight drug trafficking in the country.

According to him, if drug barons are not flushed out of the system, there would be a time they would corrupt and influence all institutions of state and they would be indirectly running the affairs of the country.

Deputy Minister of Interior, James Agalga, who made the statement, said as part of efforts to combat the drug menace in the country, government had made proposals to amend the current legislation on drug law enforcement and that considerable work had been done on a draft bill which would soon be laid in Parliament.