Illicit drugs; threat to health

Despite the long time ban on the sale of roadside drugs, the practice seems to be blossoming across the main towns of Cameroon.

The sale of illicit drugs in Yaounde, the nation’s capital has reached alarming proportions. The drugs are not just contraband, but many are expired.

A walk along the streets and markets of the capital city like the Mokolo Market, Central Market, Obili and Melen neighborhoods, amongst the hotspots, street vendors and self proclaimed pharmacists openly stack contraband drugs on wooden tables.

The poor and underprivileged people appear to be the main buyers of these street drugs. Many of them told this reporter that drugs sold in pharmacies and hospitals are too expensive.

“I prefer the street drugs because they are cheap and available” Mama Sirri, a mother of six told The Post.

“These drugs are even sold near the hospitals and we know most of the drugs are smuggled from the hospital pharmacy and sold on the streets. That is why I don’t believe in all the talk that street drugs are dangerous,” she argued.

Felix Atah, a drug vendor at Carrefour Emia thinks that certain customers come to him with prescriptions because the drugs are too expensive in pharmacies.

These vendors and self proclaimed pharmacists smuggle drugs from neighboring countries like Nigeria and even from within the country and sell at very affordable prices. Felix admitted to The Post that, he acquires his drugs from within and out of the country – that is, from the SEMPHARM and NAFDAC companies based in Douala and Nigeria respectively.

“Sometimes people buy these drugs for their families and have no idea of the possible consequences. Some of these expired drugs contain substances that can be threatening to human life”, an anonymous pharmacists explained.

Most roadside drug vendors lack medical knowledge about how substances work and how they are stored. Some of them have been noted for wrongly prescribing drugs and dosage to some of their customers, resulting in severe consequences on their health.

Medical experts warn that the damaging effects of expired or wrongly administered drugs can be fatal both in the short and long terms. Dr Monotu of the Yaounde Central Hospital holds: “Some of these roadside drugs are expired and can generate dangerous side effects. More so, when the dosage is not respected, the patient might stop taking his treatment once he feels better.

The error is that he might think that he is well as soon as the symptoms go away.” A pharmacist in Yaounde disclosed that specific drugs are stored under specific conditions. “For example, some drugs are preserved in refrigerators at a temperature of 22 to 24 degree Celsius in pharmacies and hospitals, but this is not the case with contraband drugs sold along the streets. Three to four people visit the pharmacy each day due to secondary effects of consuming contraband drugs,” she explained.

“In Cameroon, access to medicines is always linked to social status, according to Derrick Fru, a Yaounde resident. “People who lack resources always buy cheaper drugs along the streets whilst those with good finances go to the pharmacies. One of the reasons is that, drugs on the streets are retailed in small quantities, whereas, the regular pharmacies would compel someone to buy a packet of medicines instead of just a few tablets he might need,” he added.

However, money isn’t the only issue. Because of lack of information, many people wrongly think that all drugs sold on the streets are cheap. The issue is, the price of some malaria drugs are the same both in hospitals and in the black market. The lack of awareness concerning contraband drugs by the society has put the lives of many in danger. Many people have prescribed education as key to achieving a healthier society.

According to the Communication Officer in the Ministry of Public Health, Roger Mamoud, Government is not folding her arms as far as the eradication of illicit drugs is concerned along the streets and markets of the country. “The Cameroon Government has been working hand in glove with pharmaceutical industries and civil societies to fight this canker worm in the society”, he added.

To him, the police and other Government departments have made many seizures of illegal drugs in Yaounde and other cities in the country. The Government has also cut down the prices of some drugs in hospitals and pharmacies. But the vendors of contraband and expired drugs along the streets and markets do not seem ready to stop their trade just yet.