The Akrofuom district Assembly has taken notice of the surge in drug use in the district. The menace of drug use is reported to be threatening the security of the district.

According to the Chief Executive of the Akrofuom district Dr. Maurice Jonas Woode, the Assembly has taken notice of the effects of drug use in the district and has mapped up a strategy to tackle the issue.

Speaking at a general meeting held at the Assembly on Thursday, 24th October, 2024, the DCE said the social services subcommittee of the Assembly has been assigned a responsibility to liaise with relevant agencies like Food and Drugs Authority and the Pharmaceutical council to come up with strategies to prevent people from buying unprescribed drugs like tramadol.

" The situation is very worrying, nowadays, a lot of young people are seen carrying water bottles around which contain drugs of all kinds. If we don't step in to nip the situation in the bud, we will soon be overwhelmed with the situation", Dr. Woode said.

Taskforce to deal with Illegal mining

Addressing the media shortly after the Assembly meeting, the Akrofuom DCE said the Assembly has already formed an electoral area taskforce to deal with Illegal mining in the area.

Illegal mining especially in water bodies has become a topical issue in the country in recent times. Akrofuom district has however not been spared of the devastating effects of illegal mining.

The DCE said the Assembly has recognized that forming electoral area taskforce on illegal mining is the most cost effective and proactive way to deal with the canker. The taskforce is made up of Assembly members, traditional rulers, unit committee members and the miners.

" The electoral area taskforce will help to sanitize the system and deal with any miner who destroys water bodies and those who do not reclaim the land after mining"

The Presiding member of the district Emmanuel Obeng on his part added his voice to the growing concern of increase in drug use in the district. He said the situation has resulted in school drop outs and increase in criminal activities in the district.

He said as part of the measures put in place to curb the situation, the Assembly will intensify public education on the consequences of drug use in schools.

The Assembly member for Sikaman electoral area Matthew Bash on his part bemoaned the canker of drug abuse in the district saying that it is the cause of a lot of mental challenge issues in the district.

He implored the Assembly to double up it's efforts to stem the tide of drug abuse.