Hope Foundation Ghana, a non-profit civil society organization, has admonished students and young people in general to stay away from drug abuse and crime.

It said the abuse of drugs and substances has a high potential of landing students and young people into social vices, which would end up jeopardizing their future aspirations and may also lead them to jail.

The foundation, which has its officials drawn from the Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Police Service, court staff, and professionals from the departments of social welfare and health, sensitized the students of Wa Senior High School (Great WASEC) on drugs, crime, and the realities of imprisonment.

Speaking at the school in Wa, Upper West Region, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Executive Director of the Foundation, ASP Majeed Alhassan, said his outfit was set out to deliver students and young people from falling into the destructive tendencies of drug and substance abuse.

He indicated that the improper use of drugs and substances was becoming a common phenomenon in the Upper West Region, especially in Wa Municipality, among young people.

“There is a relationship between drug abuse and crime. So we realized that, in Wa Municipality, the issue of drugs is becoming too common. So we met with the Food and Drugs Authority, the Narcotics Control Authority, and the Ghana Education Service to see how best we can pull forces together and fight against drugs and crime in schools and youth camps in the Upper West Region, starting from Wa Municipality, where the issue is alarming," he said.

ASP Majeed Alhassan, who is also the Head of the Criminal Records Unit of the Wa Central Prisons, said the outreach was aimed at helping the students to appreciate what does and does not constitute drug abuse and its effects.

“What we are hoping the students will learn is that they will get to know the dangers associated with drug abuse and abstain from it, as well as the various offences or crimes that have the potential to land people in prison. So the petty, petty crimes that they didn’t know were even offences, they will get to know and abstain from them,” ASP Alhassan said.

The founder and executive director of the foundation also cautioned that “there is nothing good in crime. And even if the police are not able to catch you, the Almighty God will catch you. So it is better to stay out of crime, and if you don’t stay out and you commit the crime and come to prison, you will regret it because the conditions in prison are unbearable.”

ACO Seth Owusu Kwame, the Public Relations Officer of the Hope Foundation GH, advised the students against the practice of taking common drugs to treat ill-health conditions without the advice of a medical practitioner, which he described as a common form of drug abuse.

He observed that it was common for people to take certain drugs whenever they experienced recurrent symptoms simply because a medical practitioner had prescribed the same drug for them earlier, which treated that condition.

He said the practice was bad and not advised because different ill-health conditions could present similar symptoms and that taking a particular drug for different ill-health conditions could be highly injurious.

“Any time you’re feeling the same thing as you were feeling, don’t take the prescription into your hands. Go and see the doctor; they will pass you through tests,” he said.

He further advised that “there is nothing beneficial to drug abuse apart from the harm that it can cause you. Drug abuse can lead you to commit crimes like stealing, armed robbery, kidnapping, and serial killing to get money to continue funding the drugs,” and this, he said, has the tendency of leading one to prison.

He therefore urged the youth to disassociate themselves from the influences of bad peers and people who have nothing good to offer, apart from advising them to engage in bad acts.

Some students who participated in the sensitization program expressed gratitude for the education offered to them and promised to not go near drugs, and they pledged to become positive advocates in the fight against drug and substance abuse within their communities.

“They basically taught us about drugs and how drugs harm us, for example, premature deaths and the contraction of diseases and disorders such as stroke, disability, and madness,” Mohammed Salman said.

“I have also learned about different types of offenses, which I previously never knew could lead me to prison. I also watched pictures and videos of young and old people struggling in prison. I've also come to realize that, if we stay away from drugs, we will be successful in life, and our parents and society will be very proud of us,” Rusdeeya Salifu Wonta said.

The event was graced by the Headmaster of the school, Alhaji Iddrisu Thirdman, some members of the school's staff, and some team members of the foundation.