National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has embarked on a countywide roadshow to raise awareness among Nyeri residents about the dangers of drug and psychotropic substance abuse.

Speaking during the flagging off ceremony at the central regional headquarters in Nyeri on Monday, the County NACADA Coordinator Caroline Kahiu said the caravan will traverse the eight sub-counties where the authority will engage the public on issues of drug and substance abuse.

“We are going round to encourage people to have conversations with us and let us know what issues we can be able to work together. We are also encouraging people to utilise our toll-free line number 1192 to get in touch with us and we will be able to share immediate interventions and we can connect them to professional help that is closer to them,” Ms Kahiu said.

Some of the institutions that have been targeted to benefit from the roadshow include the 25 institutions of higher learning. The authority has also planned a special outreach for primary and secondary school-going children who will attend this year’s edition of the Central Kenya Agricultural Society of Kenya Show that starts on Wednesday this week.

According to Kahiu data from a recent survey conducted by the authority indicate that the age of initiation to drug and substance use is seven years underscoring the urgent need for enhanced sensitization about the risks of drug and alcohol abuse in learning institutions.

“Data from our national survey, the age of initiation into drug and substance use is seven years. Findings from a survey on drug use in learning institutions shows that one out of two students or one out of four students has ever used a drug,” she noted.

Nyeri County Commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi said the roadshow will accord residents and the youth a one-on-one chance to interact with NACADA experts and learn much about the effects of drug abuse.

“In Central Kenya, there are so many fallacies and so much misinformation, consumption of adulterated liquor and drug use in general. This is the only opportunity we have for us to get the exact facts, the true statistics so that all of us can collectively tell which direction to take from here. Many are the times when we campaign against some of these substances and drugs, our young people do not understand the effects the drugs have on their body,” he said.

Mwiwawi has also attributed the rising incidence of moral decay among young people in learning institutions and families to drug abuse. He particularly highlighted the use of bhang, which he said contributed to poor judgment in its users.

“When you hear of defilement cases, you link them to drug abuse. When you hear of suicide cases, sometimes you relate them to drugs. We cannot handle our frustrations through the use of drugs. I know there are other ways and means in which we can handle our social issues that are negatively impacting on us like by visiting the right offices and I am sure we can get help from there, “he said.

On the war against the menace, Mwiwawi said that the county security committee in partnership with other government agencies had made significant headways in tackling the consumption and sale of illicit brews in the county. He said that the most prominent concern with regards to illicit brews for the county is the proliferation of ethanol but he reassured the residents that the committee will spare no effort in riding the county off adulterated liquor. He also cautioned the unscrupulous businessmen who had migrated the drug and illicit brew trade to the satellite towns of Gatitu, Ruring’u and Chaka that their days are numbered.

“We have seriously sustained campaigns against the sale and consumption of drugs and illicit brews and we are going to make sure that even if we don’t eradicate them, we will see to it that we minimize the usage of these drugs in Nyeri County. What we have realised is that some of these businessmen no longer sell around the town. They have found markets outside but we are still going to pursue them and make sure and ensure that we keep our people safe from drugs,” stated the County Commissioner.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Wangari Mwangi