Drugs in Somalia: young drug addicts

While addicts used to chew the leaves of the khat plant despite it being forbidden, drink alcohol, sniff gum or smoke hashish, the number of people abusing opioids, which are injected into the body with needles, is on the rise. These include morphine, tramadol, pethidine and codeine.

In early December, police seized a large shipment of prescription drugs, mostly opioids, at Mogadishu International Airport and arrested the importers.

“Pills and injectable drugs are particularly popular among young women and girls,” said a Mogadishu doctor, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“Many of these substances are addictive and are available and can be purchased without a prescription at pharmacies throughout the city,” he added.

Another common drug used by girls is chewing tobacco, known as taboo, which can cause cancer of the mouth and throat.

Aminu Abdi, 23, has been using drugs for five years. Although female drug addiction is taboo in Somalia, she decided to speak to the BBC about it in the hope that she could help break the silence and secrecy surrounding the issue.

“I started chewing taboos with the girls I lived with,” she says.

“It had a bad effect on me. I became addicted first to tobacco, then to stronger drugs, especially tramadol and pethidine, which can be injected intravenously.”

Abdi says her drug use escalated dramatically after she started having issues with her husband.

She is now divorced and lives with her young daughter.

“My ex-husband is the reason for my addiction to hard drugs. My addiction got so bad that I lost my mind and started sleeping in my car and on the streets.”

Abdi is trying to get rid of drugs, but she says it is very difficult to do so because there are no rehabilitation centers in Somalia that are suitable to handle the treatment process, and it is also impossible to stop using all kinds of drugs at once, according to her.

Abdi has managed to reduce her use of injectable opioids, but still chews tobacco and smokes water pipes.

Parents in particular are very concerned about the drug problem that is spreading among their daughters, some of whom are still students at school.

Khadigo Aden noticed that her 14-year-old daughter was behaving in an unusual way.

“He was sleeping at odd hours and acting erratically,” says Aden.

“One day I found tramadol and chewable tobacco in her purse. I confronted her and she told me that she had started taking drugs because of peer pressure at school.”

The mother sent her daughter to a center run by clerics. Her daughter stopped taking drugs because it’s impossible to get her there.

Many parents send their “problem” children to such institutions, especially those with mental illness, those involved in crime or drugs, and those suspected of being gay.

Serious abuses occurred in some of these centres, including restraints and beatings of detainees.

At a time when the country is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years and more than three decades of conflict, Somalia’s limited resources are not enough to cover even the most basic human needs, let alone tackle problems like drug addiction.

Some small organizations are trying to bridge the gap by spreading awareness about the dangers of drugs.

The Green Crescent Society visits schools and universities to warn students about different types of addiction, including drug use, gambling, gaming and social media.

Serad Mohamed Noor runs the Mama Ogaso Foundation, which focuses on drug use among young people, including girls.

“We are doing our best to discourage young people from using drugs by organizing awareness programs that highlight the health risks associated with drug use. We are also lobbying the government to step in and do something about it, but it is not sufficient. Strict measures are needed to prevent this scourge from emerging.” out of control, especially among street children.

According to the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development, more than 40% of street children use drugs.

About a fifth of all street children in Somalia are girls, and about 10 percent are under the age of six and some are as young as three.

Although khat, chewing gum and chewing tobacco are the most common and harmful substances for street children, a study conducted by the ministry found that nearly 10% use opioids and about 17% use sleeping pills.

Increased drug use among marginalized youth has led to an increase in the number of crimes, including violence against women and girls.

According to Somalia’s Public Research Authority, this has also led to the recent emergence of street gangs, known as “Sial Wero”, which have spread terror across Mogadishu.

In some cases, the drug is used to entrap women, as happened in the southwestern city of Baidoa, where a woman was allegedly raped after being given a narcotic.

There is a risk that higher rates of intravenous drug use could increase the relatively low prevalence of HIV in Somalia.

“The recent growth in the number of people injecting drugs, especially opioids, is putting a whole new group of Somalis at risk of contracting the virus,” says Dr.

Healthcare professionals say one of the most effective ways to tackle the opioid problem is through vendors, most of whom are pharmacists.

Police have launched a campaign to prosecute pharmacists who sell these materials.

A pharmacist, who declined to be named, said he and his colleagues were not at all happy with the police intervention.

“I have been running a pharmacy in Mogadishu for many years – he said – It was very easy to sell medicines to young people, even girls, also because nobody knew the effects of medicines on those who took them”.

“We sold to everyone and made good money.”

“But now the parents are working with the police, who have started monitoring us and sometimes arresting us. We are now afraid of selling drugs to young people and losing the income that comes with it.”

By speaking out about drug use, courageous young women like Aminu Abdi and mothers like Khadigo Aden have taken the first important step in making this issue public.

Police intervention and drug education programs will help address this scourge, but without increased resources and attention, the problem is unlikely to abate anytime soon.

* Fathi Mohamed Ahmed she Rboss By Bilan Media, an all-female news organization in Somalia.