Drug Consumption Grows in West Africa After Years on Transit Route

ADF STAFF

West Africa has transitioned over the past decade from a transit route for illegal drugs headed to Europe from South America to a booming illegal drug market with a troubling rise in domestic users.

That is among the findings of a three-year study by the West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) that examined emerging trends in regional drug and substance use, prevalence, and treatment from 2020 to 2022. The study was coordinated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Weak and ineffective governance institutions, socio-economic challenges, political instability and overlapping security issues drove the region’s gradual transition from transit hub to drug market. Besides growing numbers of people with psychoactive substance abuse disorders, the region also faces a proliferation of counterfeit medicine.

Researchers found that the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of drug treatment centers and law enforcement capacity gaps all aggravated the multipronged problem.

“The heaviest burden of drug use is shouldered by the age group 10 to 29, thus investing more in mental health among young people is essential to protecting our children and youths against the use of illicit drugs,” Fatou Sow Sarr, ECOWAS commissioner of human development and social affairs, said in a policy brief.

The report found that cannabis is the leading cause of treatment for substance use disorder and dominates the list of drug seizures in the region.

According to the report, 55% of all admissions for drug abuse treatment from 2020 to 2022 were linked to the consumption of cannabis, cannabis resin and hashish. Cannabinoids also represented nearly 70% of all drug seizures in the region. The amount of cannabis seized increased from 139 tons in 2020 to 631 tons in 2021 to 892 tons in 2022.

“Cannabis dominates regional statistics because it grows easily in our climatic condition, [has] a mode of consumption that is not restrictive (smoking), [and is] more accessible and less expensive than other drugs,” N’guessan Badou Roger, a treatment, research and epidemiological officer from Côte d’Ivoire, said in the policy brief.

Pharmaceutical opioids, such as tramadol and codeine, accounted for the largest quantities of opioids seized in the region, indicating that the region continues to be a hub for the diversion of legal pharmaceuticals for illicit consumption.

Drug Use Varied By Country

In Senegal, the most abused drug in 2021 was cocaine, which accounted for more than 60% of the people seeking treatment. The most abused drug there in 2022 was cannabis, which accounted for nearly 44% of those seeking treatment. In Côte d’Ivoire, nearly 80% of people seeking drug treatment were addicted to cocaine or crack, while more than 46% of the people in treatment in Nigeria used cocaine.

Porous land, maritime and air borders expose the region to illicit drug trafficking, the profits of which typically are used to finance terrorism, kidnappings for ransom, arms trafficking, cult and gang violence, coups, and prostitution, the report found.

From 2020 to 2022, authorities seized large quantities of substandard, fake, falsified and counterfeit medical products.

According to a February 2023 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report, up to 50% of medicines in West Africa are fake or substandard. Medicines such as tramadol, and products related to sexual and reproductive health, arrive in the region from countries such as  Belgium, China, France and India, typically at ports in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Togo.

Recommendations

The WENDU study recommends that ECOWAS play a lead role in establishing a uniform regional cannabis policy that properly addresses the region’s cultural, social and economic realities.

The study calls for enhanced drug and substance abuse research at regional, national and sub-national levels to better understand the extent and nature of drug addiction and substance abuse.

Outdated narcotics regulations should be reworked to adhere to current global best practices, and more efforts should be made to educate the public about the dangers of drug abuse.

The report also calls for more drug treatment facilities in rural areas and says cross-border controls should be strengthened to mitigate regional trafficking.