•How did 12 containers of this drug get into the country?
The news that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered 12 containers with tramadol tablets at the nation’s port is one scary news that ought to worry those charged with the nation’s health sector at all tiers of government.
Tramadol is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. It is sold under different brand names and very similar to Opioid (narcotic) analgesic and works in the brain to change how the body feels and responds to pain. It is important to note however that the drug under any brand name is not an over-the-counter medication that should be accessed by anyone without a valid prescription from a medical doctor.
In a country like the United States, for instance, the Drug Administration Agency (DAE) in August 2015 named tramadol officially as a Schedule 1V substance within the US under the Controlled Substance Act. This has substantially restricted access to all brands of the drug which when abused has very dire consequences.
Delineating all brands of tramadol under the Controlled Substance Act is a good step into making access to the drug only to health professionals who understand the use and the quantity required for any ailment. An abuse of tramadol comes with a cocktail of side effects. Ideally ,because of its potency and side effects, under-18s are not expected to use the drug.
The effects of the abuse of tramadol range from breathing problems, nausea, dizziness, headache, vomiting, itching, muscle rigidity, slowed breathing, coma, to death. It is not recommended for use by pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to avoid mother-to-child transfer of the lethal effects. The tablets are not expected to be tampered with even when taken under prescription. It is not to be chewed or opened as the effects can be too dangerous for the individual.
It is therefore a sad commentary on the nation’s health sector that an opioid drug like tramadol can be readily available on the nation’s streets just months after the outrage over the abuse of codeine, especially in the northern part of the country, by young people who ought to be protected by the state.
The huge and mind-boggling seizure of 12 containers by the NDLEA at the nation’s port speaks volume of the negligence by most government agencies to do their duties diligently. Being a specialised and very dangerous (if used without prescription) drug, how did such a huge quantity enter the country? Surely to attract seizure, some irregularities must have been involved in the drug importation.
Nigerians would want to know where the shipment emanated from, those involved in the importation, who authorised the importation, the roles played by all agencies concerned and whether the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) did all they ought to do to prevent the containers from coming into the country. The availability of tramadol in the country besides this seizure is worrisome. The government must get to the root of this embarrassing seizure.
In all countries, the tendency of citizens, especially the youth, to abuse drugs of any brand name or even other unorthodox drugs is curtailed by functional laws and the adherence to best practices by all organs of government concerned directly or remotely. This is because the devastating effects of drug abuse is akin to that of wild fire during the African harmattan.
The most endangered segment of the population when it comes to drug abuse is the youths who if well-educated and healthy become the engine room of development. In a nation like Nigeria with a huge population of youths saddled with other problems, including unemployment and illiteracy, allowing any level of drug abuse would mark the beginning of an end to the country whose future lies with its most virile and productive population.
Concerned government agencies and ministries must effectively work to nip the impending disaster in the bud. The Federal Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency must urgently mount campaigns to educate the people on the dangers of drug abuse because most people are totally ignorant of the dire consequences as they revel in the delusionary elixir often gotten from the abuse of illicit drugs.
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