Over 50 per cent of psychiatric admissions in the country are drug-related cases; a huge burden on the nation’s health care delivery system, the deputy director of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA) has disclosed.

Kalilu Njie, who was speaking recently during celebrations marking the International Day against drug abuse, and illicit drug trafficking, said they could not ascertain the figure of drug-related deaths, but he disclosed that they make over 300 arrests each year in connection to drug trafficking.

“The United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) Report revealed that 210 million people are affected by drugs each year, out of which 200, 000 die yearly,” he told the celebrants.

While pointing out that the transit of drugs through countries means some would remain and be consumed locally, Deputy Director Njie explained that drug users would use violence if necessary to obtain cash or simply cause mayhem whenever they are in need of the substance.

Stating that his Agency is fully aware of the difficult nature of the fight it is leading, Njie hastened to assert that they are conscious of the fact that NDEA alone cannot successfully win the war on drugs. “

We are urging all and sundry to take it as a personal responsibility to curb the menace of drugs in our communities,” the Drug Agency’s deputy chief enjoined.“The Gambia, like other countries in the sub-region, has been a target for the transit of illicit drugs,” he concluded.