June
26th marked the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
It gave us the opportunity to reevaluate Drug Policy in West Africa, where the
current realities of the illicit drug problem show that drugs are not just
passing through to the burgeoning market in Europe, North America, and Asia,
but also a growing local demand for consumption while production is increasing.
Prior
to 2010, West Africa was not known for its methamphetamine production, only
that drug couriers were frequently detected on flights between West Africa and
Asia.
In
a period of five years, from 2010 to 2015, we saw the large-scale production of
1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine annually.
Furthermore,
drug trafficking in West Africa impacts negatively on governance, public
health, security, and human rights as clearly stated in the 2014 report of the
West Africa Commission on Drugs, Not Just in Transit: Drugs, State and Society
in West Africa.
The
report exposed the lucrative nature of the drug trade, so much so that high
profile state and political officials have become active players in the trade.
Related cases have been reported in Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali,
Nigeria, Senegal, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Hence, democratic institutions are
under threat from corrupt practices fuelled by drug money.
The
impact on public health also poses a challenge, especially among the younger
demographic of people who inject drugs (PWID) in the region. Nigeria has the
second largest number of people living with HIV and PWID contribute about 9% of
annual new HIV infections.
In
2013, HIV prevalence among PWID in Liberia was3.9% and 4.2% in Benin in 2009.
Unfortunately, Harm reduction services are non-existent except in Senegal which
has a harm reduction centre that implements small-scale opioid substitution
therapy and a needle and syringe program.
Despite
these realities, counter-narcotic measures in the region have remained
unchanged. According to Kofi Annan, the war on drugs in West Africa is
misguided. There is an over emphasis on illicit crop eradication, supply control,
and punitive measures.
For
most countries in the region, successes are measured on the amount of seizures
and number of drug offenders who have been arrested or prosecuted and June 26th
is a day where several drug law enforcement agencies even showcase their
arrests and seizures.
While
we can’t discount all the meaningful efforts that have been put into securing
borders to control the flow of illicit drugs and the prosecution of
traffickers, it is time to place more emphasis on health, socioeconomic
development, citizen security, good governance, human rights protection and
access to justice.
We
are calling for a balance and the prioritisation of development-oriented drug
control policy.
The
current West African war on drugs is also a war on people who use drugs.
High-level traffickers often go unpunished whereas the small-scale peddlers and
users are those who bear the brunt.
For
example, 2014 data from Sierra Leone Police suggests that over 100 people were
arrested for marijuana possession and use and many of them were given the
maximum sentence of 10 years in prison under the National Drug Controlled Act,
2008.
The
country has also witnessed cases of mentally ill young men and women who got
imprisoned after been arrested on the streets and ghettos of Freetown for
marijuana possession and use.
In
Nigeria, young men and women who use drugs have reported how their human rights
and access to health services have been violated by law enforcement agents
through arbitrary arrest, as well as prolonged detention, extortion, and sexual
assault.
These
punitive and harmful measures have shown that it is nearly impossible for any
country to arrest its way out of the drug problem. Instead, there should be an investment on
evidence-based drug prevention and treatment strategies, harm reduction and
socioeconomic solutions for people who use drugs.
As
West Africa becomes a hub for drug production and consumption, there will also
be a need for corresponding changes in drug policies across the region which
reflect these realities.
What
is most important is to focus on what works, and encourage open discussions on
drug policy reform across the region.
More
so, we are counting on political leaders to be courageous enough to make the
necessary policy change.
“Drug
trafficking in West Africa impacts negatively on governance, public health,
security, and human rights.”
Adeolu
Ogunrombi
