NACADA chairman Julius Ayub (R) speaks during International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Ndumberi grounds. Children are being used as drug peddlers in schools. [Photo: the-star.co.ke]Children as young as 10 are smuggling bhang and cocaine in schools.
Antinarcotics campaigner Gladys Chania says the situation is worsened by the fact that underage children cannot be put in rehabilitation centres.
"We are having a problem when we have addictions on underage because we can not put them in the rehab centres together with the adults. NACADA should step in and provide solutions for the underage addicts," she said.
She said this during the 2017 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Ndumberi grounds in Kiambu town on Monday.
The law stipulates that children under 18 years are not supposed to be rehabilitated but taken to approved schools.Chania, a child and adult psychologist said the education sector should have a requirement for drug testing.
"Can we have a rule or a requirement in the education sector whereby a requirement of drug testing should be there when the children have done their class eight to form one. This will ensure that we do not transit the problem," Chania said.
Also, NACADA chairman Julius Ayub said that the most commonly abused drugs among students are tobacco, alcohol, bhang and miraa in addition to opium cocaine and heroin.
"There are 32 emerging drugs in Nairobi alone followed by Mombasa with 21 new drug types. We need to be vigilant on what must be done to curtail this menace," Ayub said.
Education CS Joseph Nkaissery through his speech read by Kiambu county commissioner Adiel Nyange said porous borders pose a big challenge in the war against drug abuse.
"My ministry through NACADA is currently working with 13 county governments in establishing treatment centres at the county level," Nkaiserry said.