By: Precious Miracle Kargbo (Intern)
Madam Matilda Ekan Sonsiama, leader of a Civil Society Organization based in Freetown at the last week press briefing organized by the Ministry of Information asserted that women are the main transporters of Kush, tramadol and many high powered drugs in Freetown.
Madam Sonsiama commends all the ministries and departments that are fighting tirelessly to combat this issue of Kush and drug addiction. She immediately rendered her disappointment at the alarming rate of Kush in the country and confirms that women are also addicts of Kush, as she has now concluded a very comprehensive investigation to complete this fact.
She furthers that people blame the government for bringing Kush in the country but she can now confirm that women are now the main link and traders for drugs in the country and they claim that selling Kush and other harmful drugs is “their main source of income”.
Dignitaries and panelists at the briefing were the Minister of information and Civic Education Mr. Chernor Bah, Deputy Minister Keketoma Sandy, the Minister of Health Dr. Austin Demby, a member from civil society Madam Maltida Ekan Sonsiama and Dr. Abdul Jalloh a senior specialist psychiatrist global mental Health.
She called on the security forces especially the Sierra Leone police to take a stern move on these female distributors, by not protecting them because of interest but to ensure that they are brought to law for destroying the community and the country with these harmful drugs.
Matilda says “women involved in Kush are useless and of no essence to society thereby leading them to become prostitutes and to so many sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV and hepatitis”.
Miss Sonsiama confirms that our Local Produce Cassava Leaves is being used as an ingredient now to make Kush and that 80 percent of people selling Kush are women. Proactive steps have been taken from the Ministry of Health to curtail the issues of Kush and drug addiction in the country.
Kush is a societal problem that needs the society, family, including the security, the bio-medical side and the communication side to put up a huge fight against. She concluded.
Miss Matilda reminded that she is teaming up with government, ministries and all agencies on the fight against this menace of drug abuse in the country, she says women have to be more responsible in society and must condemn the action of other women that are involved in these activities as it is not an act of “patriotism” to the nation.