Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Professor Frank Edwin, has cautioned pupils in basic schools against the use of illicit drugs.
The use of these drugs he said had the potential to destroytheir future and also create many health problems for those who get addicted to it.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor gave the caution at the 2025 World Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking organised by the UHAS Basic School at the main UHAS campus at Sokode-Lokoe in the Ho Municipality on Monday.
Professor Edwin said parents had the responsibility of educating their wards against drug abuse and the use of substances by encouraging open discussions that would demonstrate to them that their parents were interested in their activities.
He stressed that the only way to prevent drug abuse and the use of substances was through regular education, which he said parents had crucial roles to play in addressing the problem.
The Director, Drug, and Demand Reduction of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Mr Sylvester Yaw Adu, described drug abuse and the use of substances particularly among the youth in recent times as a disease that called for the collective efforts of all stakeholders to cure.
Mr Adu commended the management of the UHAS Basic School for organising the programme annually, which he stressed was key to resolving the looming threat to society.
He said regular sensitisation programmes on the effects of drug abuse on the victims and society, and how to save the lives of the victims was crucial.
Mr Adu explained that drug abuse and substance use did not affect only the individuals but communities too which normally resulted in poverty and conflicts, saying regular education would ultimately address the menace.
He therefore called on stakeholders to support NACOC in dealing with drug abuse among the youth, and asked them to avoid drugs and substances use, and urged the pupils to be focused on their studies to enable them to prepare adequately for a brighter future.
The Head of the UHAS Basic School, Mr Seth Korgah, said the high number of the youth involved in drug and substances abuse should be regarded as a major threat to national development, which he said was more dangerous than the danger galamsey posed to the country.
Mr Korgah therefore called for the introduction of drug and substances abuse education into the curriculum of basic schools to ensure that the youth would appreciate the need to abstain from drug and substances abuse in the country.
The ceremony, which was on the theme: ” Breaking the Cycle: Empowering the Youth against Drug Abuse” was attended by about 2, 000 pupils from 14 basic schools in the Ho Municipality.
