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. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman