- The Nigerian Senate has developed two draft bills for legislation to tackle the menace of drug abuse in the country
- The proposed bills are: National Drug Control Bill and National Mental Health Bill
- This is the outcome of the round-table convened by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, in December last year in Kano
The Nigerian Senate has developed two draft bills for legislation to tackle the menace of drug abuse in the country.
NAIJ.com gathered that the proposed bills are: National Drug Control Bill and National Mental Health Bill.
The move is the outcome of the round-table convened by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, in December last year in Kano state.
Dr Saraki speaking at the round-taable convened by the Senate on drug abuse last year in Kano. Photo credit: SP media office
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A statement by the media office of Saraki said the Drug Control Bill seeks to clarifies the mandate and strengthen the capacity of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant law enforcement and regulatory bodies to eradicate the illicit production, and trafficking of controlled substances.
It also seeks to establish a central mechanism to facilitate collaboration among law enforcement, regulatory and public health authorities in line with the National Drug Control Policy.
The Bill further focuses on proactive law enforcement and regulatory measures towards the eradication of the illicit importation, production and trafficking of controlled substances.
It also criminalizes the diversion, distribution or otherwise dispensing of controlled substances without a prescription or license
On mental health bill, the statement noted that, in recognition of the fact that psychosocial issues are the key drivers for the abuse of psychoactive substance, the Bill was crafted to ensure that standard facilities are available in every state to provide mental health and substance abuse services.
The proposed law guarantees the protection of the rights of people with mental illness and stipulates that mental health practitioners and facilities no longer engage in practices that are harmful to people with mental health and substance use disorders.
In recognizing the low number of mental health practitioners in the country with the ratio of practitioners at one psychiatrist to 1.6 million people, the draft law makes provision for quality mental health and substance abuse services available for women and adolescents, who are an underserved segment of the population.
Commenting on the draft bills, Saraki said a provision for stiffer sanctions would be made in the bills as proactive mechanism in the prevention of drug trafficking and abuse.
He pledged the commitment of the Senate in the speedy passage of the bills to give a legal framework to help mitigate drug abuse in the country.
The Senate on Tuesday, February 20, passed a motion calling on the federal government, through the ministry of health to establish rehabilitation centers in each of the 36 states of the nation.
In a motion sponsored by Senator Jeremiah Useni and nine other senators, the Senate noted that with more rehabilitation centers in the country, addicts would be able to receive professional treatment in the short and long term, thereby, bringing down the rate of addiction and crime in the country.
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Source: Naija.ng
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