The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced a proposal for drug testing students at tertiary institutions.
The agency aims to address drug use as a public health issue rather than a criminal offense.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, explained the initiative on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday. He said, “We’re treating this as a public health issue, not a crime, let me quickly put that in perspective.”
Babafemi clarified that students who test positive for hard drugs will not face punishment or expulsion.
Instead, they will receive support to help them overcome drug use. “Whoever tests positive for drug use in that situation – that’s why we work with these institutions – we collaborate with them so that the people who test positive are not punished or expelled from the school, they are taken for treatment to win off these substances and also to get them reintegrated back to their classes, back to the academic pursuit.”
The NDLEA plans to partner with educational institutions to provide treatment and support for affected students.
Babafemi noted, “When they test positive, it is to detect early and bring support for them. Perhaps some of these institutions have counselling and treatment centres, those that don’t have, we have 30 of our treatment counselling centres across the country and we have three more coming up in the next couple of weeks.”
Additionally, Babafemi highlighted the agency’s efforts to support students’ mental health. “Apart from that, we also have a 24hr call centre where we have our mental health centres, counsellors, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrist doctors that provide these also, on the telephone we have our two free helplines that people can always call and get the needed support.”
He assured that students would not be left without help. “All of these we provide to ensure that students are not just tested and left or abandoned, they also get support and even write on our test kit we have our two free helplines in the comfort of their home, call and get the needed support, guidance and get support for their loved ones that test positive.”
