Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (Retd) has reiterated the need for women, led by the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) to join the campaign against the bid to legalise cannabis in the country owing to the monumental negative socio-economic and security consequences it will bring to the nation.
Speaking when the President and members of NCWS paid and advocacy visit to the Agencies headquarters in Abuja, Marwa said, “You have to join the movement against those pushing for legalization of cannabis otherwise we may be building more rehabilitation Centre’s than hospitals.
“Women are the power of the nation; as such you must never allow this legalization move. NCWS is central to the ongoing drug demand reduction and drug supply control efforts in Nigeria.
“I’m happy you have structures down to the local governments and communities because we have almost 15 million drug users and one in four are a woman. Women are central to the home and whatever they do have consequences on the entire family structure.
“We have been sweeping the drugs off our streets as much as we can but we need to face the demand end, hence the need for collaboration with the NCWS”, the NDLEA boss stated.
Assuring that the Agency would intensify its advocacy for drug test in schools as part of deterrence measures, Marwa said, “You have to support drug test for our university students and intending couples. If prospective suitors know drug test will be a condition for marriage, they will abstain from drug use”.
Earlier, the National President of NCWS Dr (Mrs) Gloria Laraba Shoda called for partnership between the leading women body and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA in view of the disturbing prevalence of drug abuse among the female gender in the country.
While commending Gen. Marwa, officers and men of NDLEA for doing so much within a very short time, Mrs. Shoda bemoaned the level of drug abuse among Nigerian women noting that as a result, there is the urgent need for partnership with the agency to salvage the development.
“It’s unfortunate that women now hold drug parties where each one brings her own illicit drug and from the collection, they produce a cocktail of illicit substances to get high”.
“At the NCWS, we are worried by this and that’s why we have come to seek partnership with NDLEA in view of the recent excellent work being done by the Gen. Marwa new leadership of the Agency”, she stated.