The United Nations says the rate of consumption of illegal drugs in Africa is on the rise. Africa in terms of hard drugs has never been a continent for consumption, however that situation is rapidly changing and to make matters worse the region lacks drug-treatment centres. The UN agency said as much as 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of heroin have been consumed in West Africa in 2011 so far.
There are an estimated 1.5 million of coke users in West Africa, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has topped the list of countries with the highest trafficking and use of drugs in
West Africa. According to UN statistics 37,000 people in Africa die annually from diseases associated with the consumption of illegal drugs. The UN estimates there are 28 million drug users in Africa, the figure for the United States and Canada is 32 million.
The UN says drug trade has increased in Guinea-Bissau since the April 2012 coup, Africa's rising illegal drug consumption can be attributed to political instability as well as porous borders.
More African youths are becoming addicted to hard drugs, while West Africa gradually transforms from a drug transportation region, to a drug consuming region and finally a drug producing one. According to the Washington Post, the transit route fulfills a cocaine market in Europe that has grown four fold in the past few years and reaches an amount almost equal to the United States. In 2009, the figure was at $800 million and so it is obvious that illegal drug use is growing rapidly in both West and Central Africa. There are now an estimated 2.5 million
drug users in this area.
The majority of drug consumers in Abuja for example are young men and women who are mostly from well-to-do families. West Africa is not only a trans-shipment zone, local production and consumption is also on the rise – especially among its burgeoning youth population. Over 70% of the sub-region’s estimated 300 million people are under the age of 35. The vast
majority have limited education and are unemployed or working in the informal sector. Lack of employment opportunities or reliable income put youth in precarious positions where they may be vulnerable to involvement in the drug-trade and drug use itself. In desperate and troubling circumstances, drugs offer a means of escaping the harsh realities of everyday life.
At the regional and national levels, the dual failure to build alliances with civil society and non-governmental and community-based organizations, as well as the failure to educate the populace have been major missing elements in the fight against narcotics trafficking and use.
Civil society, including NGOs and community-based organizations, has an important role in raising awareness and educating citizens. Only token efforts have been made to provide information about the health, socio-economic, and security problems associated with drug trafficking and consumption. In many countries, citizens unaware of the harmful impact of drugs continue to idolize the drugs lords and dream of amassing their vast wealth, cruising around in bling cars like‘Hummers.
A growing amount of the drugs coming from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil into West Africa are being consumed locally. This is new, though not surprising: low prices and high
supply of cocaine, particularly around the main entry points in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry cause havoc among a youth, already so distraught by so many problems. Let’s not forget that mafias’ foot soldiers and petty traffickers are being paid in kind with the dope then retailed domestically. Namely, drug addiction is coming to Africa.
There are also unconfirmed reports of drug use (as well as trafficking) affecting the military. This threatens more than the security sector reform. It creates armies of addicts: as developments in Conakry have shown, soldiers’ behaviour can get easily out of control. By the way, the disastrous consequences of addiction among the military have been experienced and addressed in other parts of the world – including in rich countries. The difference is that in Guinea-Bissau there are no drug treatment facilities.
Since 2010 in numerous West African countries large amounts of chemicals used in drug processing were found to convert pasta basica into high grade cocaine, and chemical precursors to manufacture ecstasy (worth over $125 m). Namely, drug production is coming to Africa.
The Pura Calma Project
Some contributors and readers of African Narco News are interested in establishing a Holistic Drug Rehab centre based in Dakar or Accra in West Africa.
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Traditional drug and alcohol treatments (as much as 97%) utilize various methods -- a 12-step / faith-based philosophy, or the addiction-as-disease philosophy, that puts your sobriety in the hands of others -- God, the medical profession, groups of other addicts -- and all clinging to the belief that an addict cannot ever fully recover. Where traditional faith-based, 12-step programs have miserable long-term success statistics -- around 5% -- so-called alternative programs can be at least 50% successful and often much higher. By way of comparison to “alternative” programs, traditional 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous were ranked 38th among the 48 treatment methods reviewed. Such success can only be due to pure, repeatable and predictable workability -- the very definition of scientific.
What is a Holistic Drug Rehab?
An holistic drug rehab is a facility that offers a drug addiction treatments that addresses the four major effects of drug abuse and drug addiction: physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental. Holistic drug rehab programs, on the other hand, go much deeper than this, offering an extensive, multi-faceted drug addiction treatment that treats the root of the problem rather than just the symptoms.
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Pura Calma Rehab
The most successful alternative drug rehab programs are based primarily on what can be called a “social education model” of rehabilitation that assist individuals to regain control of their lives, without the need for drugs.
The holistic programme would include:
Self-control training
Social-skills training
Community reinforcement
Educational lectures and films
General counseling
Ibogaine Therapy
Psychotherapy and other milieu therapies
Yoga, Tai Chi, Guided Meditation
Acupuncture
Gender Specific Groups
Mind - Body - Spirit Program
Stress Management
Massage
Music Therapy
Nutrition and diet
Personal Training and Exercise
Use of indigenous plants and Herbs
Holistic natural detox
Outpatient Treatment
Continuing Care / Aftercare
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Pura Calma Rehab Project West Africa wildharvestpharma@gmail.com