Ghana missing out on substitution treatment opportunities for people struggling with drug dependence

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Ghana missing out on substitution treatment opportunities for people struggling with drug dependence

21 January 2016

By Emmanuel Odonkor

Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) Mr Yaw Akrasi-Sarpong, told ghanabusinessnews.com in an interview, that though opioid substitution therapy is a process which in effect is provision of a health service to a drug addict, Ghana’s drug laws are silent on the issue.

He explained that there are two schools of thought on opioid replacement: one believes methadone can be just as addictive as the drug being substituted, but the broader school of thought holds that it is less addictive and can be used in harm reduction, to help drug addicts coming out of problematic heroin use.

“If we don’t have a law for harm reduction, it should be possible to go to court and say that in the constitution, health for all is a right; so that if you start methadone substitution and authorities come and confront you for using opiates without permission, we should be able to go to court and defend you that you are giving health to people, but the law is silent on that,” he said.

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