By Mark N. Mengonfia-mmenginfia@gmail.com
Nearly every community in Liberia has fallen victim to drug pushing ghettos where disadvantaged youth (Zogoes) gather daily to take in harmful substances including cannabis and other dangerous narcotic substances.
After they take to the streets for their normal routine: robbing, hijacking and sometimes killing and inflicting bodily wounds on targets. Sometimes adults and minors alike are brutally raped.
It is apparently against these unfortunate happenings linked to drug usage that Montserrado County District 4 Lawmaker, Rustonlyn Suacoco Dennis submitted a draft legislation to colleagues seeking for the establishment of a rehabilitation center for cannabis and banned substance victims in Liberia.
The Bill was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday January 6, 2021.
After being read, it was subsequently sent to the Committees on Judiciary, Gender and Health to do proper reviewing and report to plenary within two weeks.
In the draft instrument, Rep. Dennis pushed her case by attributing the wave of crimes being committed nowadays including killing, armed robbery phone snatching and theft, as well as other deviant acts to the use of drugs.
She therefore said it was prudent that a law be enacted to make provision for the rehabilitation of drug affected people in the country.
According to Rep. Dennis who is also a female lawyer, decisive emphasis has not been placed on rehabilitating victims of drugs and controlled drug substances, considering that Liberia’s population is 5,073.296 of which, 65% comprises of the youth, while 60% accounts for people under the age of 25 years. This places strong emphasis, particularly, on Liberia’s youth” Rep. Dennis said in the instrument title”: REHABILITATION CENTER FOR THE VICTIMS OF CANNABIS DRUGS USERS.
She indicated that Liberia is among many countries of the world that have signed the World Health Organization (WHO) framework convention on cannabis drugs as well as tobacco, which aims to prohibit and reduce the usage thereof.
She at the same time said in 1972 and 1974 respectively, the Legislature of the Liberia enacted a law increasing tariff on cigarettes, as a way of reducing the demand for Tobacco products and also amending the drugs law of 2014.
She said the efforts of Government and its to discourage the use of harmful drugs has not so far paid off or attained the desired results.
Cannabis and controlled drugs, Dennis said in the draft legislation, constitute the commonly used drugs in Liberia.