Dr. Albert Kelong Alkali, National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), has said that the ban imposed on the importation of codeine into Nigeria is not the answer to the problem of drug abuse bedeviling the country.
He said this during a chat with newsmen on May 3.
Dr. Albert called for an all-inclusive approach in tackling the problem of drug abuse.
According to him, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other drug control regulators could work together to ensure drug tracking from the manufacturers to the end users as part of measures to tackle the problem.
He said, “We should be able to account for all the drugs that are manufactured and imported into this country. If we have such a tracking system in place, then the issue of drug abuse will be reduced to the barest minimum.”
He also spoke on the National Drug Distribution Guideline. “So, the drug distribution system channel must be structured and the new National Drug Distribution Guideline (NDDG) should be implemented. We are still afraid that the deadline for the implementation of the new NDDG, January 2019 might not be met. They should be able to know that there is a drug that is being abused, investigate to find out where the abuse is coming from,” adding that with the current development, every relevant stakeholder would sit up,” he added.
This website had reported that Seun Kuti, son of late Afrobeat King, Fela Kuti, said that just like the ban on weed did not work, the ban placed on the issuance of license for the importation of codeine will not stop the use of the product in the country.