During a JoyNews conversation on August 28, 2025, George Opare Addo, Ghana’s Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, revealed that:
12% of university and tertiary students are abusing cocaine
11% are abusing heroin
59% of respondents admitted using weed edibles
49% reported using shisha/hookah
41% reported prescription drug misuse
Furthermore, 11.4% of northern Ghanaian university students had abused tramadol, according to a May 2025 survey. Of these, 24% showed indications of dependency.
Dr. Allotey Pappoe claims that the 12% figure does correspond with the Minister’s stated percentage of students misusing cocaine, but not with a more general “on drugs”.
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