An advocacy group is calling for a review of the country’s drug policy and for the rights of drug users to be respected.

Students for Sensible Drugs Policy Gambia chapter this week organised a stakeholder engagement with members of the National Assembly, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and civil society organisations.

The group’s president Karamo Konteh told reporters that their organisation is part of the largest global youth-led network dedicated to ending the war on drugs. 

“We advocate for drug policy reform that will be based on human rights and public health by respecting the rights of drug users, and currently we know that there is a review of the drug policy and so we are having dialogue with them. 

“We want them to be conscious about the human rights aspect and to respect the rights of drug users. 

“We join the global drug advocacy campaign [dubbed] ‘Support Don’t Punish’ which seeks to put harm reduction on the political agenda by strengthening the mobilisation capacity of communities targeted by the war on drugs.”

Karamo said the group wants to see a sensible approach to the country’s drug challenges. 

He said the authorities should not be only focusing on prosecuting drug users but also helping them overcome their addiction. 

“They are people like us so if you arrest someone with drug problem, you don’t jail them for a long time because some of them are addicted to drugs and they need medical help and counselling.”

Prince Bull, executive director of West Africa Drug Policy Network said the authorities in the west Africa subregion need a new approach to dealing with the drug crisis. 

“Most of the drug laws in the sub-region are punitive. They are prohibitive which means they are enforcement-led. 

“They punish people in all aspects of the drug trail that means there is punishment for drug production, there is punishment for trafficking including drug use or possession for personal use,” Bull said. 

“And for us we think it shouldn’t be the case because people who use drugs should not carry the same amount of punishment as those who trafficked or those who produce the drugs.

“We see drug use as a public health issue and not a criminal issue, and implementation of drug control, we must take into account human rights particularly minor and non-drug offenders,” he added. 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba