Your future is too bright to be dimmed by illicit drugs – President Mahama to youth
President John Dramani Mahama urged the youth to turn away from illicit drugs, warning that addiction was destroying families, eroding the country’s social fabric and robbing the nation of the talent it needed to develop.
The President made the appeal in a public education message issued on the occasion of World Drug Day 2026, where he described drug abuse not merely as a global phenomenon but as a crisis that had worked its way into Ghanaian homes and was leaving a trail of broken families and lost potential in its wake.
“Your future is too bright to be dimmed by illicit drugs. I urge you to choose a healthy, productive and fulfilling life,” President Mahama said.
He said behind every case of addiction was a story of lost potential, broken dreams and a family struggling with pain, and that the damage rarely stopped at the individual.
Drug abuse, he said, weakened the social fabric of communities and deprived the nation of the vibrant talent it needed to drive its own development at a time when Ghana could least afford to lose a generation to substance abuse.
The President’s message came on a day set aside by the United Nations to strengthen global action and cooperation against the drug problem, but President Mahama made clear that for Ghana, the issue had long since stopped being a distant international concern.
He called on parents to take a more active role in protecting their children, saying the home was the first line of defence in the fight against drug abuse and that love and vigilance from those closest to young people remained the most powerful tools available.
Teachers, traditional leaders and religious leaders also received a direct charge from the President, who said the battle could not be won in courtrooms and rehabilitation centres alone if it was being lost in classrooms and family compounds every day.
“To our parents, teachers, traditional and religious leaders, the fight begins in our homes and our schools. Let us guide our young ones with love and vigilance,” President Mahama said.
He told Ghanaians that building a healthier and drug-free country was a shared responsibility that required every layer of society to play its part, from the family unit through community institutions to government, and that the work had to begin immediately.
“Together we can build a healthier, drug-free Ghana. Let’s get to work,” he said.
World Drug Day is observed annually on June 26 and is designated by the United Nations to focus international attention on the human cost of drug abuse and the collective action needed to address it.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
