A criminologist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Jones Opoku-Ware, has warned that Ghana’s growing drug problem has evolved beyond criminality into a major public health crisis.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, July 27, during a discussion on the JoyNews Hotline documentary Deadly Doses II, Dr Opoku-Ware said the country’s drug landscape has changed significantly, making drug trafficking and abuse more difficult to detect and control.
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He noted that traffickers and users are increasingly adopting new methods, including mixing different drugs to produce stronger effects, making it harder for law enforcement agencies to track illegal activities.
Dr Opoku-Ware also expressed concern over the growing number of young people affected by substance abuse, describing the trend as alarming and calling for a coordinated national response.
He explained that synthetic drugs such as Tramadol are now being combined with cough syrups and other substances to create new drug mixtures tailored to produce specific effects.
According to him, users experiment with various combinations for reasons ranging from enhancing sexual performance to coping with stress and depression.
His comments follow revelations in Deadly Doses II, which showed that illicit drugs are increasingly being concealed in products such as sobolo, brownies and gummies, allowing traffickers to target schools, university campuses and young people more discreetly.
