The United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has distanced itself from news making
the rounds that the organisation called for the decriminalisation of cannabis
(locally known as Igbo) in Nigeria.
UNODC said this on during
its visit to Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, Abuja, where it made a
presentation at the public hearing on ‘The need to check the rising menace of
pharmaceutical drugs abuse amongst youth in Nigeria’ on March 26, 2018’.
According to the United
Nations Office’ of Outreach and Communications Officer, Mr Sylvester Atere, the
news totally misquoted the UNODC views and warned that this could jeopardise
its long-existing relationship with Nigeria.
He explained that,
following an invitation by the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, UNODC
made a presentation at the public hearing and reiterated the following
recommendations contained in 2017 International Narcotics Control Board, INCB,
report, where the Board urged all governments to:
(a) Gather data on the
prevalence of drug-use disorders and the accessibility and utilisation of
treatment;
(b) Invest in making
treatment and rehabilitation evidence-based;
(c) Allocate sufficient
resources to treatment and rehabilitation, the two major components of demand
reduction;
(d) Pay particular
attention to special population groups;
(e) Share, nationally and
internationally, best practices and build capacity;
(f) Stimulate research into
new interventions.
Atere stated that when
being asked specifically on cannabis, he said,
“our representative clearly
stated that legalisation of cannabis is not supported by the three UN
international drug conventions (Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 as
amended by the 1972 Protocol; Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971; UN
Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances 1988). The UNODC did not urge Nigeria to legalise cannabis.”
According to several reports; The position of
UN on the usage and abuse of drug was declared by Project Officer of the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Nigeria, Harsheth Kaur Virk, in her
presentation at a one day Public hearing on the need to check rising menace of
Pharmaceutical drugs abuse among youth in Nigeria organised by the Senate
Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Health.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would
ReplyDeletenever understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me.
I'm looking forward for your next post, I'll try to
get the hang of it!