Poor educational curriculum Contributes to substance abuse – Mental health officer

Poor educational curriculum Contributes to substance abuse – Mental health officer

Mental health officer, Mohammed Kamil of the psychiatric unit in Yendi municipal hospital, have called on Ghana education service policy makers to implement substance abuse education in the early stage to help reduced the number of people that abuse substance.

According to him, the educational curriculum did not considered educating students on substance abuse at the earliest stage but rather include it at a stage where many students have already getting involved into substance abuse.

Speaking on Gbewaa Radio health program he also identified the legislature as part of the bodies that Contribute to substance abuse because their powers include passing of laws and rectifying treaties in the country and that alone have given them the power to pass laws on substances that the country import and control the behavior of substance towards the youth.

Law enforcement has also become a challenge when it comes to the control of substance abuse for instance it is not all drugs that sellers over the counter can sell as compared to pharmacy but here is the case sellers over the counter sells some of the hard substance or drugs that they are not supposed to sell. He added

This has brought many problems to society which he attributed to peer influence, broken homes, curiosity and unemployment that has lead to the problems in the society.

The officer, again said that lack of employment has made many people to associate with others which they were not supposed to associate with and that has lead them to also involved themselves in abusing substance.

He cited school dropout as a causes of substance abuse and that has made some people in the society social unrest and has lead to killing of innocent people for little money they need to use and abused substance.

He added that, all those that are being into robbery and other social vices may have been abusing substance or once in awhile taken the hard substance and that made them to do all the unacceptable things.

He therefore, call for social cohesion to help prevent or reduce substance abuse among the youth.