Practicing and non-practicing Pharmacists in Anambra State, under the aegis of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PCN, and Young Pharmacists Group, YPG, have taken an awareness march through the state capital, Awka, to enlighten the public, especially youth, on the immediate and
remote dangers of illicit drug use.
The Pharmacists, who spiritedly trooped out to perform the walk, said that in view of the reported dangers of drug abuse during elections, the exercise was also meant to illuminate the young people on the need for abstinence.
The awareness march which kicked off at the Alex Ekwueme Square, took the Pharmacists through the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, down to Regina Ceali junction, through Oby Okoli Avenue, Okpuno, and to the Club Road junction, Awka.
The participants also displayed placards, with inscriptions warning against drug abuse, while flyers were also given out to passersby and commuters, to drive home the message.
Discussing the essence of the exercise , the State Chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Pharmacist Patrick Obi, said that against the backdrop of perceived and recorded cases of illicit drug use amongst the youths, especially as the elections draw close, the group saw the advocacy as not just imperative but beneficial to all people.
The convener of the exercise, and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Pharmaceutical Matters, Pharmacist Chibuzor Okaa, said that the public must be made to understand the inherent dangers of drug abuse, not just to personal health development, but to a larger society.
The Young Pharmacists Group’s Coordinator, Anambra State, Pharmacist Hilary Toh, spoke about the benefits of the sensitization, adding that as a professional body, it has the obiligation to embark on such exercises of educating the populace on critical societal problems such as drug abuse.
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