The Officer-In-Charge of the Governance Commission, Commissioner Elizabeth Dorkin, has expressed serious concern over the increased wave of substance abuse in the country. She alarmed that the situation has reached crisis level as a result of decades of abuse, particularly amongst the youth.
Commissioner Dorkin emphasized that illicit substance abuse poses a major health and security risk to our nation and its people. Liberia has become an attractive hub for illicit trans-regional drugs traffickers who in a short time have found a loophole in our system and attack the social fabric of the country. She also stated that their actions have abused the young population of the country, particularly on drugs and banned substances. There is a need to strengthen the enforcement regime to stop the illicit traders in order to protect our nation and its future generation.
Speaking at the opening of a day-long dialogue on “Emerging Substance Abuse Crisis and its Effect on the Economy’’ organized by the Governance Commission in Monrovia recently, Commissioner Dorkin stressed that Liberia’s public health law criminalizes trade of illicit drugs, but she called for more coherent policies on how violators of the laws should be handled.
The illicit drug trade, she said, if not addressed will become a major public health and economic crisis in the coming decades and will threaten Liberia’s peace and stability.
According to her, illicit drugs and drug trade is gradually taking away “our much-needed workforce” who could otherwise contribute to the economic development of our country. Against this background, she said that “we must all act and act now.”
In conclusion, she expressed hope that the Commission’s mandate to formulate policies and proffer policy recommendations will lead to the development of a National Road Map to curb substance abuse in Liberia.