9 Pages
2166 Words
Introduction To Illicit Drug Trafficking In Ghana Essay
"Global Criminology" is an area of "criminological research that examines crime and deviance on a global scale". On the other hand, the "criminal justice system" is usually composed of "the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system" (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2023). In this presentation, the area of "Global Criminology & Criminal Justice Systems'' is focused on. Specifically, this presentation focuses on the issue of "illicit drug trafficking in Ghana". Various recent studies have shown that among the general population of Ghana the "prevalence of alcohol and drug use" is significantly high. Ghana is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of "number of consumers of illicit drugs" (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2023). In this presentation, the concept of drug trafficking, the situation of Ghana in this regard, and the impacts of drug trafficking on the society and the population are discussed. In the end, concerning these adversities, some recommendations are provided for Ghana.
Need expert assistance with your assignments? Our Team of Online Assignment Helpers for Every Need is here to provide top-quality support across various subjects.
Drug trafficking
The term "Drug trafficking", which is also known as "drug distribution", is the "crime of selling, transporting, or illegally importing unlawful controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or other illegal drugs". Activities like "illicit production, sale, distribution of drugs, and creating a multi-billion dollar industry" are involved in this process. The "illegal drug trade" is nearly worth 400 billion USD each year, which accounts for almost 8% of the entire international business (Pubmed.ncbi, 2023). There are various reasons behind “financial burdens, youth unemployment, get-rich-quickly syndrome, peer pressure, addiction, and sexual involvement” and many others (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2023). The adverse national infrastructure is partially responsible for such adversities as drug trafficking, and national improvement is also hindered because of drug trafficking.
Drug trafficking should be prevented and controlled through proper strategies for promoting the growth of the nation. Drug trafficking leads to “undermining political and economic stability, severe public health issues, a generation with no productivity" and some other issues and overall, uncontrollable drug trafficking ruins a nation. Drug trafficking must be stopped by applying different strategies, including "collaboration among law enforcement, health, and social service agencies" (Pubmed.ncbi, 2023). As per the "public health model", there are "three types of strategies to prevent drug abuse can be discerned, and these are primary, secondary and tertiary prevention" (Ncbi.nlm, 2023). Later in the section on "recommendations", a more detailed discussion of the prevention strategies is presented.
There are several international legal frameworks for handling drug trafficking and some of those are as follows. These international guidelines are for all the nations to follow. The "Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, (NDPS) 1985 and the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs" two legal frameworks that “prohibits a person from producing, possessing, selling, purchasing, transporting, storing, and consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance" without authorisation. The “International Convention on drug trafficking” is a framework for controlling international precursors and it is established in the “1988 Convention” which provides “comprehensive measures against drug trafficking, including provisions against money laundering”. The basis of the legal framework of Ghana regarding drug trafficking comes from the “Narcotics Drugs Enforcement and Sanctions Law, PNDCL 236 in 1990”.
Drug trafficking in Ghana
It is already mentioned that Ghana is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of the "number of consumers of illicit drugs". Studies have shown that in Ghana, "homelessness and substance use" create significant public health problems. It is estimated that nearly 5.5 million citizens of Ghana (which is 39 % of the total population) live in slums. This issue significantly contributes to high drug trafficking prevalence in Ghana (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2023). For marijuana trafficking, Ghana ranks "first in Africa and third in the world", and for cocaine, it types "first in Africa and 14th in the world" (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2023). This statistical data shows that Ghana supplies a huge amount of illicit drugs to the world and in Europe most drugs are supplied from Ghana. This means the uncontrolled drug trafficking in Ghana is not only damaging the country but also damaging the world and this drug trading has become facilitated because of globalisation. Apart from these two, "alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamine, opioids, and other illicit drugs" are highly consumed by the people of Ghana. Another fact that should be kept in mind is Ghana is an economically underdeveloped country, and the population struggle to avail essential resources to run their lives within the country, that is why people of Ghana quickly get involved in drug trafficking as a solution to this poor economic situation.
Another report has estimated that more than "1.25 million Ghanaians were having problems with drug use, mostly marijuana, whilst others listed were cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and other synthetic opioids such as tramadol and codeine" (Pubmed.ncbi, 2023). Overall, it can be stated that the drug trafficking condition in Ghana is highly detrimental to the country. However, Ghana has some policies to prevent drug trafficking. Ghana has its "Ghana National Drug or Medicine Policy", and the goal of this policy is to “ensure universal, equitable and sustainable access to priority, efficacious and safe medicines for all people living in Ghana” (Omane-Addo and Ackah, 2021). Besides, there is a legal framework for publishing drug traffickers in Ghana. “The possession or control of a quantity of a narcotic drug over a quantity" can be sentenced to ten years imprisonment (Debrah, Sarfo and Padilla-Santamaría, 2021). In Ghana, corruption is deeply integrated into social and legal infrastructure, and that is why drug trafficking is rapidly increasing within the country.
Impact of drug trafficking on society
Drug trafficking leads to a significant increase in the supply of illegal drugs among people, that can ruin their physical and mental health along with their social lives. It is considered a social problem that harms youth, their families and the society (Omane-Addo and Ackah, 2021). The money generated through the process is usually used for “disruptive activities that have bearings on national security”. In the above sections, the overall adverse impacts of drug trafficking are presented, and here, the adverse effects on society are discussed. According to the study of Agboli, (2023), uncontrolled use of illicit drugs leads to “instability in family relationships, domestic violence, crime-prone life, reduction of sense of belongingness to the family and the society". Overall, everyday social life gets destroyed because of drug trafficking (Omane-Addo and Ackah, 2021). Overall, drug trafficking can make a society fragile from the inside, which has long-term impacts along with numerous short-term adversities.
Uncontrolled drug trafficking involves teenagers, adolescents and even children in the process, and they start consuming those drugs and make others engage in consumption. As a result, at a very early stage, their lives get destroyed, their mental and physical health gets affected, they cannot avail of proper education, and their contribution to the nation's growth becomes zero (Pubmed.ncbi, 2023). Many drug traffickers get caught by the legal framework present in the country, and most significantly, their families also suffer from the situation. According to the study of Wrathall et al. (2020), the healthcare system cannot accommodate this vast number of patients, and the overall public health situation worsens. Most importantly, a nation like Ghana, with such a non-productive young generation, cannot make any significant contribution to international business, politics and economy.
Recommendations to manage drug trafficking
Firstly, some general strategies should be taken to address the issue of huge drug trafficking and these strategies must include "crime prevention, police reform, access to legal aid, victim support, gender in the criminal justice system, justice for children, restorative justice, alternatives to imprisonment" and some others. According to the study of Van Uhm, South and Wyatt, (2021), these are some strategies to prevent and control existing drug trafficking culture within the country. The existing legal framework and system should be strengthened, and corruption within these systems should be discouraged to deal with drug trafficking. Punishment policies should be strengthened so that people cannot easily get involved in drug trafficking (Pubmed.ncbi, 2023). However, drug trafficking is now deeply integrated in the social infrastructure of Ghana and stopping that completely may take a long time and that is why some other strategies should also be taken.
It is previously mentioned that as per the "public health model", there are "three types of strategies to prevent drug abuse can be discerned and these are primary, secondary and tertiary prevention". The core healthcare system and community care system of Ghana should revise their policies according to these prevention policies. According to the study of Dukku and Yunusa (2022), the healthcare system should provide both physical and mental illness support to the citizens. Child education should be highly emphasised because proper education at an early stage can prevent involvement of youths and teenagers in drug trafficking. Next, according to the study of Ukaeje and Iheanacho, (2023), the government should promote campaigns that make the society understand the adverse impacts of drug trafficking on economies, health, mental stability, society, future of children and growth of the nation. Overall, it is recommended that as preventive measures Ghana should emphasise on the education system of the country and healthcare system of the same along with community-based approaches for handling the issues related to drug trafficking. Ghana is weak in terms of its economic strength, and that is why the government can seek assistance from international organisations like the World Health Organisation and others.
Conclusion
In this presentation, the issue of "illicit drug trafficking in Ghana" is explored and analysed to some extent. This study has shown that Ghana is a highly vulnerable nation towards drug trafficking, and the culture of drug trafficking is deeply rooted in the social infrastructure of the country. The economic situation of Ghana is not well, and that is another reason behind this high prevalence of drug trafficking culture within the country. The statistical data shows that a large population of Ghana is involved in drug trafficking, and that develops an industry with high market value. This presentation shows the current situation of Ghana in this regard and the policies it follows to prevent drug trafficking. The impacts of drug trafficking on society are highly adverse and that eventually destroy the nation. In recommendations, some recommendations are provided for preventing drug trafficking, and some are provided for handling the adversities of drug trafficking.
References
- Agboli, J., 2023. Adjudication and Treatment of Narcotic Drug Offenders in Ghana. The Journal of Medicine, Law & Public Health, 3(2), pp.219-227.
- Debrah, T.P., Sarfo, J.O. and Padilla-Santamaría, F., 2021. Victims or Criminals? Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitudes of Ghanaian University Students on Illicit Drugs and Substance Users. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 10(3), pp.609-615.
- Dukku, A. and Yunusa, A., 2022. Trafficking of Illicit Drugs in the West African Region: Factors, Implications and Solutions. Gusau Journal of Sociology, 3(2).
- Ncbi.nlm., 2023, Facilitators and Barriers to Health Seeking among People Who Use Drugs in the Sunyani Municipality of Ghana: An Exploratory Study, Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405291/#:~:text=A%20report%20estimated%20that%201.25,tramadol%20and%20codeine%20%5B16%5D. (Accessed on 09/11/23)
- Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov., 2023, Alcohol, tobacco and drug use among adults experiencing homelessness in Accra, Ghana: A cross-sectional study of risk levels and associated factors, Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9987824/#:~:text=Various%20studies%20in%20Ghana%20have,world%20for%20cocaine%20%5B25%5D. (Accessed on 09/11/23)
- Omane-Addo, F. and Ackah, D., 2021. Illicit Drug Use Among Inmates in Ghana Prisons: A Case Study of Ghana Prisons Service. Dama International Journal of Researchers.
- Pubmed.ncbi., 2023, The prevention of drug abuse--state of the art and directions for future actions, Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8523476/#:~:text=Based%20on%20a%20public%20health,grade%20school%20children%20in%20general. (Accessed on 09/11/23)
- Ukaeje, O. and Iheanacho, J., 2023. Illicit Drug Trafficking in West Africa: The Contending Issues and Way forward. University of Nigeria Journal of Political Economy, 13(1).
- Van Uhm, D., South, N. and Wyatt, T., 2021. Connections between trades and trafficking in wildlife and drugs. Trends in organized crime, 24(4), pp.425-446.
- Wrathall, D.J., Devine, J., Aguilar-González, B., Benessaiah, K., Tellman, E., Sesnie, S., Nielsen, E., Magliocca, N., McSweeney, K., Pearson, Z. and Ponstingel, J., 2020. The impacts of cocaine-trafficking on conservation governance in Central America. Global Environmental Change, 63, p.102098.
