World Drug Day 2026: Why Our Policy Responses Need a Reality Check

On June 26, 2026, the national observance of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking brought together high-level stakeholders, including the chief of staff to the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Ministry of Education, the Interior Minister, chiefs, and religious leaders. The theme, “The World Drug Problem: Persistent Challenges, New Threats, and Innovative Responses", was timely.

However, as we reflect on the speeches and data presented, a stark disconnect emerges between our official rhetoric and the evidence-based realities on the ground. While the Chief of Staff and the UN Secretary-General spoke of a balanced approach, the policy directives from the Ministry of Education and the enforcement focus of NACOC suggest we are still doubling down on an outdated, punitive playbook. The Awareness Paradox: Why "Don't Start It, to leave in regret" Isn't Enough

The most illuminating moment of the day came during the research presentation by the UPSA and NACOC. The findings were clear: 95% of young people in the sampled districts are already aware of the harmful effects of drugs.

If 95% of our youth already know the risks, why are we still investing in slogans like "DON’T START IT, TO LEAVE IN REGRET" as our primary intervention?

The data confirmed that awareness is not the problem; the problem is behavioural change, access to support, and the crushing weight of peer pressure. We are treating a knowledge gap that does not exist while neglecting the behavioural health crisis that does. The Failure of Zero Tolerance

The most alarming development was the Minister of Education's call for zero tolerance in schools, with dismissal as a primary disciplinary measure.

From a harm reduction perspective, this is a regressive step. Expelling a student found with substances does not remove their dependency; it removes them from the only structured support system, the school, that can effectively intervene. It pushes vulnerable youth further into the margins, increasing their exposure to criminal networks and destroying their future prospects.

Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019), was designed to move us toward a public health model. Dismissing students is counter to this progress. A Way Forward: Evidence-Based Solutions

We must pivot from a model of enforcement and exclusion to one of identification and support. Here is my proposal for the way forward:

For the Ministry of Education (MoE) & GES:

1. The ministry should replace expulsion with referral protocols. Instead of disciplinary committees, schools must establish referral and support protocols. When a student is identified as struggling with substance use, the trigger should be a mandatory assessment by a trained school counsellor or addiction health professional, not an exit interview.

2. We need to integrate peer-refusal training. We have the data to show that 43% of substance initiation is driven by peer influence. Our assembly time should be used for life skills training, teaching students how to resist peer pressure rather than just repeating slogans.

3. We need to create support hubs. Every district must have a designated mental health support hub accessible to students, ensuring that those in need can access clinical care without being severed from their education, and we also need to ensure that these environments are stigma-free.

For the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC):

1. NACOC needs data-driven hotspot interventions. The study confirms that substance use is highly concentrated (e.g., Madina at 73.5%). NACOC’s resources should be disproportionately allocated to these hotspots, not just for enforcement but for community-led outreach and the establishment of local drop-in centres (DICs).

2. They need to invest in rehabilitation, not just scanners. While modern detection technology is vital for traffickers, it does nothing for the 85% of individuals who relapse. We need to shift a significant percentage of the budget from security-only tech to subsidising rehabilitation beds in our public health system.

3. They also need to foster community integration. Use traditional leaders and religious institutions, as discussed during the event, not just to preach against drugs but also to serve as mechanisms for the reintegration of individuals in recovery.

The reality is that we cannot continue to treat a health crisis with criminal justice tools. As James Ebo White so eloquently reminded us, we are in a position where we must choose whether to "build for" our communities or "come for" our addicts.

The bill for our current policies in lost potential, broken families, and strained social systems is coming due. It is time for our policymakers to stop looking at the drug problem through a lens of moral failure and start viewing it through a lens of human development.

Let us honour the potential of our youth not with speeches, but with systems of support that actually work.

YOUTH PROMISE TO ADVOCATE FOR HUMANE DRUG POLICY IN GHANA

Until recently, the West Africa region has been perceived as only a transit zone of drugs from Latin America to European Countries Markets. This general perception started changing since June 2014 with the release of WACD flagship reports titled ‘’Not just in transit, drugs, the States and Society in West Africa’’.

Early 2013, Kofi Annan (Former UN General Secretary) conveyed the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD) chaired by the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo. The Commission comprised of commissioners from diverse background in West Africa such as politics, civil society, health, security and the judiciary.

After 18 months of research, looking at the evidence, consulting experts from the region and visiting some of the most affected countries and communities in the region, WACD in June 2014, released its flagship report, including a series of evidence-based recommendations for drug policies across the region.

The report shed lights on the impact of drug market in West Africa. According to the report, drug trafficking is a new threat to the development of West Africa. West Africa region is not only a transit zone of drugs from Latin America to Europe but also local production and consumption are on the rise which continues to be a major issue. Organised crime syndicates exist at all levels of society in West Africa and pose a threat to good governance, peace and stability, economic growth and public health in West Africa, a region that has only recently emerged from decades of violent conflict.

A pervasive situation that is corroborated with statics from the United Nations (UN) and the United Nations Organisation on Drug and Crime (UNODC). According to the UNODC, the yearly reports on the world drug problem, the prevalence rate of cannabis uses in West and Central Africa combined (12.4%) is higher than Africa and the global average, 7.5% and 3.9% respectively.

In the above statistics, the youth mostly formed the majority of the affected population. Per the Narcotics Control Board Statistics, the youth in Ghana make up the majority of the drug user community particularly youth in the Junior/ Senior High Schools and tertiary institutions.

It is in light of this worrying situations and also, recognizing the specific needs of young people, and that they are more vulnerable to drug-related harms, the Ghana chapter of the West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) set to increase the level of youth awareness and engagement on drug policy debates and calls for decriminalization and support for harm reduction measures in the region.

The initiative by WADPN-Ghana is also to strengthen youth advocacy in the area of Human Rights and Drug Policy Reform.

In view of these challenges, the West Africa Drug Policy Network, Ghana Chapter (WADPN-Gh) with support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and in collaboration with civil society activist in the country recognized the need to bring together youth, particularly, students, and other stakeholders who are the most vulnerable to the dangers of drugs and the need for drug policy reform to trigger drug and policy reform debates and processes. The forum focused on various approaches to effectively respond to the drug challenges with possible commitments to educating them on the need to contribute to playing advocacy role, building their capacity on understanding Ghana’s  drug policy and how to engage with their institutions to develop effective campus based strategies and not the usual 'Just say No" to drugs and also  engaging policy makers and lobbying for drug policy reforms and finally sensitizing the public and communities about the impacts of drugs on democracy, governance and the society.

Present at the forum was the African consultant for the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) who sensitized the groups about the current state of global drug policy as well as Ghana; and called on them to engender interest in advocacy and research among them. She further explained that, the youth forum was part of an advocacy within the region for evidence -based drug policy that is grounded on public health and human rights and to promote the active participation of young people in drug policy development by building the capacity of youth organizations to advocate for the rights of vulnerable people who use drugs.

Mrs. Loglo further called on the youth to join the advocacy platform for Humane Drug Policy for people suffering from problematic drug use and the need to engage in smart drug prevention programmes.

At the end of the program, the participants committed to a series of actions within their own communities including raising awareness of the rights of people who use drugs, involving community leaders, organizing social and health campaigns on drug use and facilitating activities in schools with teachers and students.

Leaders from the various youth groups pledged to called on the relevant authorities to promote the rights and inclusion of people who use drugs including establishing links between prisons, health services and civil society to ensure follow ups and continuation of services for people who use drugs after release from prison.

The day also saw the inauguration and birth of Youth Rise for Drug Policy Reform Ghana, a youth movement whose aim is to mobilize young people concerned with the impact of drugs and drug policies on individuals, families and communities in Ghana.  

SHAPING HUMANE DRUG POLICIES IN GHANA: A PROGRESS REPORT BY MARIA-GORETTI ANE

The drug policy debate is beginning to take shape in Ghana. What is fundamental is that the country’s policymakers have begun to put the debate on drug policy into practice and are making significant progress in developing and enforcing better drug laws.

Ghana is currently on the verge of decriminalising marijuana use to enable people who use drugs to freely access treatment. This was disclosed during the launching of a new report by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) , which listed Marijuana as the most abused substance in West Africa. According to the report, only one out of 18 of problematic drug users gets help as a result of the criminalization. Deputy Minister of Interior, James Agalga also gave hints that a bill will soon be presented to Parliament to address the issue on the decriminalising of marijuana.

Mr. Agalga also added that the current situation where only one out of 18 people receive treatment for suffering from problematic drug use is worrying and must be reversed.
This progressive move can be to the advocacy work carried out by the Ghana Chapter of the West Africa Drug Policy Network in 2015. The Networks’ success can largely be attributed to the capacity building support from International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI).

In June 2015, the Ghana Chapter of the drug policy network organised a stakeholders dialogue with sponsorship from the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) to commemorate the world drugs day and also to launch the "Support Don’t Punish" Campaign in the country. With the support of WACSI, this dialogue brought together stakeholders from civil society working to promote harm reduction, government institutions notably the Narcotics Control Board, Ministry of Interior, religious institutions, lawyers, ex-drug users and the media.

The main objective of the forum was to raise awareness among the major stakeholders on the critical need to stop criminalizing people for using drugs in Ghana.

The forum triggered discussions aimed at ensuring that the current Narcotics Control Bill in the country promotes the rights of people who use drugs and supports their rehabilitation, reintegration into society rather than being an enforcer of harsh sanctions that would devalue the usefulness of people who use drugs to society.

After the June 26th celebration, there was a need to meet with policy makers, notably parliamentarians, for civil society to provide some recommendations. A 3-day workshop of the Ghana Chapter of the West Africa Drug Policy Network and the Parliamentary Committee on Interior and Defence, with sponsorship from the Open Society Foundation grant (OSF), was organised from 4th-7th December 2015. This saw a breakthrough as harm reduction was accepted by the legislators as a critical aspect that needs to be included in the draft bill currently before parliament.

During this meeting, legislators admitted how beneficial and educative the workshop had been and expressed the need for more of such enlightening meetings. They admitted that civil society plays an instrumental role as government’s watchdog. In June same year, the network received about $5,000 from OSIWA through WACSI to carry out some advocacy programmes in the country. The Ghana Chapter organised its first ever media workshop for about 20 journalists in the country, engaged and conducted public awareness campaigns on the gaps within Ghana’s current drug laws, drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction as the engagement also sought to raise awareness for the SUPPORT DON’T PUNISH campaign and the consequences of the repressive drug laws on Ghanaians.

The network also developed a documentary entitled “SUPPORT DON’T PUNISH” which emphasised the need to give drug users the opportunity to seek treatment and rehabilitation instead of the continuous criminalization which only exacerbate their problem.

Beyond Ghana, multi-sectorial meetings were also organised in three countries, Benin, Ghana, and
Senegal and this led to a regional consultation in Ghana. The meetings were convened by WACSI, with support from OSIWA.

The regional consultation brought together over forty-one participants from eleven (11) West African
countries; Benin, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia.
Participants were drawn from relevant sectors including Ministries of Health, Interior, Justice, Foreign Affairs, National Inter-Ministerial Committees (IMC) on Drug Control, National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Police, National Human Rights Institutions, legal practitioners, commissioners of WACD and regional organisations, ECOWAS and UNODC, members of the West Africa Drug Policy Network in Ghana and civic activist

The meeting created an excellent opportunity for the countries to take a position as a sub-region for
UNGASS 2016 meeting. The deliberations climaxed with an acknowledgement by stakeholders that,
there is the need to take stringent measures to curb drug trafficking across the region. Participants
further called on governments of West African states to adopt policies to help drug users rather than
punish them.