Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Daily News (Tanzania)
Copyright: 2007 TSN
Contact:  http://www.dailynews-tsn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4552
Author: Miriam Makalla
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

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.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman