Codeine addiction: Senate to introduce Drug Control, Mental Health bills, says Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that codeine addiction issue won ’ t fix itself and that it is everybody ’ s problem.

He said that towards this end , the Senate was set to introduce the Drug Control Bill and the Mental Health Bill , which will help to curb the illicit trafficking of controlled substances.

Saraki made this known via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday, as linked to his equally verified Facebook page .

He had written in a link to his Facebook page :
“ The widespread nature of this drug and substance abuse problem in Nigeria is why the Senate convened the round table on drug abuse in Kano in December .

“ Even though I have been working on this issue for a few months now , watching the BBC Africa documentary last night was another eye -opener . Nigerians can now see that if care is not taken, we could be sitting on a catastrophe.

“ We cannot all just fold our arms and expect this drug abuse issue to fix itself . This is everybody ’ s problem .

“ As things stand , the Senate has already developed a draft legislative framework for the control of narcotics and psychotropic substances and the provision of mental health and substance abuse services in Nigeria .

“ With the Drug Control Bill that we are set to introduce , the mandate of the NDLEA , NAFDAC and other relevant law enforcement and regulatory bodies will be strengthened to eradicate the illicit production , and trafficking of controlled substances.

“ The Mental Health Bill will ensure the availability of mental health and substance abuse services in every state.

“ This is because , we cannot continue like this . We cannot continue to have one psychiatrist for every 1. 6 million Nigerians and expect this substance abuse problem to go away. ”

These are the benefits the Senate expects Nigerians to derive from the bills when passed into law :