MONROVIA – The House of Representatives has taken its first concrete step in addressing Liberia’s worsening drug epidemic, launching a public hearing through its Ad Hoc Committee on National Drug Emergency in Monrovia on Thursday. The session brought together officials from the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education, Liberia National Police, and Liberia Immigration Service, marking what lawmakers described as the beginning of an urgent national response.
Representative Samson Q. Wiah, who chairs the seven-member committee established by Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon on September 1, opened the proceedings with a stark warning about the existential threat posed by narcotics. He cited synthetic drugs, particularly “kush,” as the most devastating force targeting Liberia’s youth, referencing a 2023 United Nations study that found one in five young Liberians is a narcotics user. More than 60 percent of drug-related arrests, the study revealed, involved people between the ages of 15 and 30.
The toll on the country’s fragile health system is equally alarming. The Ministry of Health reports that over 35 percent of mental health cases at urban clinics involve young people with a history of substance abuse. The Liberia Psychiatric Association has confirmed that drug addiction is now the leading cause of admissions at the country’s main mental hospital. “We are losing a generation to this menace,” Wiah declared, urging lawmakers to strengthen Liberia’s drug laws in ways that punish traffickers but also create opportunities for rehabilitation.
Wiah emphasized that Liberia’s current resources are nowhere near enough to match the scale of the problem. Monrovia alone, he said, has more than 866 known drug dens, while fewer than five fully functional rehabilitation centers exist nationwide. “We cannot continue to fight a national emergency with piecemeal resources,” he warned, calling for increased budgetary allocations to fund public awareness campaigns, rehabilitation programs, and law enforcement operations.
Among those testifying was Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitzgerald T. M. Biago, recently appointed Officer-in-Charge of the LDEA by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai. Biago presented an ambitious reform strategy aimed at restoring credibility to the agency and strengthening its capacity to confront the crisis. He announced that all LDEA officers will undergo mandatory drug testing to demonstrate integrity and accountability.
A strategic review committee, he said, has already been established to overhaul agency policies, training standards, and internal procedures. The LDEA is also revising its five-year strategic plan to reflect the urgency of the current emergency, while aligning operations with new health regulations that restrict substances like tramadol and shisha.
Biago also outlined a 90-day operational plan designed to dismantle trafficking networks and disrupt drug hotspots across the country. He appealed to lawmakers for support in creating a specialized drug court to fast-track prosecutions, funding sub-offices nationwide, and providing medical and life insurance for LDEA personnel. “The fight against drugs cannot be won by law enforcement alone,” Biago said. “We need consistent community engagement, public education, and adequate logistical support to restore hope to our young people.”
At the close of the session, the committee resolved to conduct nationwide visits to rehabilitation centers to assess existing facilities, identify gaps, and determine priority areas for legislative appropriation. Lawmakers also pledged to institutionalize regular coordination meetings with government institutions, civil society groups, and local communities to ensure Liberia’s response is comprehensive and sustainable.
With the first hearing now completed, lawmakers signaled their intent to place the drug war at the center of national policymaking, a move they say is essential to saving Liberia’s next generation from the grip of addiction.
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