FIVE REASONS THE WAR ON DRUGS IS NOT BEING WON

Nairobi

Despite the loud noise being made about drug abuse in the country,
there are at least five reasons why we might never win the war on
drugs. The first one is that it is now doubtful that the government is
serious about tackling the problem. If they were, there would be
rehabilitation centres by now. There are none.

The second one is that the government is still too soft on drugs and
those who use them. Last Sunday, the Jamaican musician, Glen
Washington, was in town. The followers of the Rastafarian movement
took it upon themselves to smoke Cannabis Sativa in the open. It did
not look odd that they were abusing a prohibited drug and of course no
one bothered to show them that was wrong. And besides, it is generally
agreed that Rastafarians can smoke bhang in spite of the law against
it.

The third one is that, nearly two years after the government outlawed
the sniffing of glue, street people are still roaming our towns with
glue bottles on their mouths. The police of course see nothing wrong
in this. They let them be but they will use siren blaring convoys of
vehicles to get revellers out of bars on weekends ostensibly because
they are breaking the law.

Drug addiction does not begin with the hard stuff, it starts with low
levels of intoxication which in turn creates an addiction that seeks
satisfaction in the harder stuff. The government obviously understands
little of the wisdom of mending the crack before the whole house comes
down.

The fourth is that we have a moribund Children's Department. Most of
those who sniff glue are children in need of care from this
department. But their dilemma is understandable. Even if they arrest
them, to what centres are they going to take them?

The fifth is that the Public Health Department too cares little about
what people consume. To them drug sniffing is okay as long as it is
not being done in their buildings.

In spite of all his energy and conviction, we doubt that Joseph
Kaguthi, the drugs Czar, is bold enough to tell us that we are likely
to win this war soon if the aforementioned remain in place. Besides,
the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (Nacada) of
which he is the co-ordinator is still a lame duck where the
enforcement of law against drugs is concerned. One day we will look
back, seeking our country, and we won't find it. For now, it bothers
no one that we are teetering on the cusps of a major national
disaster. It will when we are all on our way down to an irretrievable
abyss of self-destruction. Cry this beloved nation!