By Ethel A. Tweh
Grand Gedeh County Senator, Zoe Emmanuel Pennue is urging the 55th Legislature, especially the Liberian Senate, to urgently treat the alarming rate of young Liberians categorically called “Zogoes” with emergency in the country.
He says the first action by the Senate should be a vigorous vetting of nominees for the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA).
Numerous reports indicate that Liberia has one of the highest rates of drug use in West Africa with cannabis and heroin being the most used.
Senator Pennue cautions the Senate statutory committee on Defense, Security, Human Rights and Veteran Affairs headed by Lofa County Senator Momo Tarnuekollie Cyrus, to take into account during the vetting process, the alarming rate of harmful drug users in the society and ensure that individuals taking on said task be properly qualified to help with the fight against harmful substances.
He notes that, as it stands, the LDEA is weak and lacks every capacity to combat the issue of drugs, something, Senator Pennue attributes to the lack of qualified individuals to provide proper leadership over the entity.
In July 2023, President George M. Weah signed into law the Controlled Drug and Substances Act of 2023, commonly called the Drug Law. The President signed the bill into law after it was passed by the 54th Legislature following months of deliberations.
Despite the enactment of the Law and subsequent approval by President Weah, Senator Pennue still believes that said law can only be significant if the LDEA is robust on the frontline to ensure that violators are apprehended and made to face the full weight of the law without fear or favor.
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The new anti-drug law aims to regulate, restrict, control, limit, or eradicate illegal export and importation as well as the flagrant use, abuse, and proliferation of narcotic substances within Liberia.
Pennue laments that the health sector in South-eastern Liberia continues to experience consistent lack of medicines and ambulances to take patients from one destination to another.
He along with other Lawmakers are making frantic efforts to ensure there are national efforts to rescue the nation’s youth from drugs. Editing by Jonathan Browne
