Does Africa have a drug problem?
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Worldwide, it seems that Nigerian gangs are taking over heroin smuggling. Ghanaian MP Eric Amoateng is awaiting trial in New York for allegedly smuggling over $6m worth of heroin into the United States. In Zanzibar 8% of young people are heroin addicts, and in South Africa one-third of teenagers experiment with drugs. How serious a problem are drugs in your community? Do you or anyone you know use drugs? How do you feel about drug use, does it have any place in African society? This debate is now closed. Please read a selection of your comments below. I must admit, asking if Africa has a drug problem seems to me as very disrespectful. Don’t get me wrong, raising public awareness is crucial, however, I think many commentators have made it clear that Africa is not the deadliest of players in the drug game. I think reports as sensational as this do great harm to African people, certainly more harm than good: because there is no place for drugs in African society. It is a concern to Malawi in particular as her airports are being used as a conduit for drugs from the South Africa and Asia to Tanzania and beyond. Locally it is assumed not strange to hear teenagers taking hemp. What kind of Africa are we building? I have never in my life touched drugs or alcohol. People should stop saying that Nigeria is in a mess with drugs. What about America, Britain or Switzerland? I feel that Africa would not have such a great problem with drugs if there wasn’t so much market for it in the West. Perhaps the West should deal with their own drugs business, and try to stem that flow. Furthermore, there truly are more pressing matters than that of drugs at the moment, which could use tending to. As someone who used to love African grass as a teenager, my only problem is that I never see it for sale anymore. More : news.bbc.co.uk |