LOCAL DRUG SCENE BECOMES MORE WORRYING

THE number of drug addicts reported at various facilities in the
country seeking medical attention and care has increased
significantly, indicating an increase in drug abuses. For example,
records from the Psychiatry Department of the Muhimbili National
Hospital (MNH) show an increase of 2-3 per cent of psychiatry cases
caused by drug abuse.

In 2005 alone 1,654 people reported for treatment of drug related
problems in the country. Drug abuse does not only affect health and
socio-economic well being of individual drug users, it also affects
us all, in our families, communities and the nation as a whole, the
Drug Control Commissioner, Christopher Shekiondo said.

It is a social cancer, which is destroying systematically the very
social fabric in the society; the socio-economic effects of drug
abuse are far reaching in the sense that it deprives the nation of
the much-needed human resource for economic development.

Instead of contributing to building the nation, youths are now
rendered useless and hostages of the drug abuse disaster.
Furthermore, drug abuse is the launching pad for most criminal
activities including but not limited to murder, robberies, rape,
assaults, broken homes, money laundering and corruption.

There is evidence that drug abuse contributes to the spread of
HIV/AIDS. Drug users and their associates are at risk of contracting
various infectious diseases such as this and other blood-borne diseases.

The factors that are associated with the increase of HIV/AIDS
infection among drug users whether directly or indirectly are an
unprotected sex and the sharing of contaminated injection equipment
among people who inject themselves with drugs.

It is estimated that more than three million drug users in the world
are infected with HIV. There are a number of reasons that drug abuse
may have a special relationship to this infection.

The social organisation of drug abuse has created a sub culture; the
illegality of possessing the drugs, the constant need for injection
equipment and the necessity for a safe place where drug abuse victims
may have the effect of concentrating drug users in a common place
(vijiwe), which provide the opportunity to share injections.

Such sub cultures may also provide conditions for the transmission of
HIV/AIDS through sexual contacts by drug users and an exchange of sex
for drugs or money. There is also evidence that some drugs interfere
with the body immunity or facilitate HIV progression in infected
persons and may reduce the effectiveness of Anti Retro Viral Drugs (ARVs).

The Government of Tanzania has for some time recognised the
distractive impact that drug production, trafficking and their
associated activity has on health, social and economic well being of
its citizens.

The seriousness of the problem and its potential for impacting
further on the quality of life of the people has made it necessary
for some measures to be taken. This includes the enactment of the
drugs and prevention of Illicit Traffic in the Drugs Act, which
established the Drug Control Commission responsible for the
co-ordination of Drug Control activities.

The Drug Control Commissioner facilitated a series of consultations
with major stakeholders in the field of drug control that resulted in
the formulation of the National Drug Control Master Plan.

The goal of this Master Plan is to contribute to the improvement of
the overall health and socio-economic well being of Tanzanians,
through significant reduction in the harm caused to individuals,
families and the nation, as a whole through drug related problems.

The master plan comprises two main strategies namely; supply
reduction and demand reduction, the law enforcement Agencies, for
example the police force, Immigration Department, Customs and Excise
Department are doing their best to cut down the availability of drugs
in the society.

On the demand reduction strategy the Commission in collaboration with
other stakeholders is determined to continue waging a war against
drug abuse, by conducting massive mass awareness campaigns against
it. Therefore, it is evident that preventing drug abuse and treatment
of drug addiction can reduce the spread of HIV/ AIDS.

This is another side of Mr Shekiondo's proposal for imprisonment, as
a proper punishment for drug barons instead of them paying fines, so
as to alleviate the practice. He made this proposal in Dar es Salaam
when he was opening a seminar for educators and counsellors on drugs
and HIV/AIDS.

He said that the current fines paid by the drug barons was not
effective in curbing the problem because the accused do not feel the
pain as they pay the money and continue with their business.

"For example", he said, "one foreign drug baron was arrested at the
airport possessing drugs worth 60 million shillings but he was fined
one million shillings and was freed after he paid the fine." Mr
Shekiondo explained how the current law was ineffective to properly
eliminate the problem.

The available data from the police indicates a significant increase
in quantities of drugs seized each year in the country, reflecting a
rise in availability of those drugs here. For instance, about 7.3 kg
of heroin and 160 grams of cocaine were seized in 2005, while in 2006
about 92 kg of heroin and four kg of cocaine were seized.