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Some basic school pupils in parts of the Volta Region are now skipping classes to work as labourers on marijuana plantations for very low wages, the President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs (VRHC), Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, has revealed.
He described the situation as dreadful, saying the trend posed a very bleak future for the region.
Togbe Tepre Hodo, who is the Paramount Chief of Anfoega, said this at a general meeting of the VRHC in Ho.
He said young people were cultivating the weed with impunity in Vakpo and Wusuta in the North Dayi District and Gbefi in the Kpando Municipality.
The President of the VRHC said the plantations were spreading rapidly, adding that the region risked losing “normal young people” sooner than later.
“Some of the children are offered the substance to smoke on the farms, and once addiction sets in, they would definitely drift off-course,” Togbe Tepre Hodo lamented.
Togbe Hodo, therefore, called on law enforcement agencies to step in immediately to curb the menace.
He pointed out that the Narcotics Control Commission Act only permitted the cultivation of certain species of marijuana under licence for medicinal and industrial purposes and not for recreation.
When contacted, the Paramount Chief of Vakpo, Togbe Gbogbolulu V, corroborated the story and said the situation at Vakpo, in particular, was now out of hand.
“The young marijuana farmers are now attacking us physically, and several complaints to the police have fallen on deaf ears,” he told the Daily Graphic.
In February this year, Togbe Gbogbolulu expressed concern over how young people in the area were cultivating marijuana in large quantities at night, using torch lights.He said for years, Vakpo was known for a high level of discipline and peace.
However, Togbe Gbogbolulu said the serene atmosphere at Vakpo was now giving way to fear and anxiety among the residents, as a result of the reckless use of marijuana and lawlessness among the youth.
The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, who graced the meeting, reaffirmed the Volta Regional Coordinating Council’s firm stance to maintain peace and security in the region at all times.
In so doing, he said the council would work hand in hand with the VRHC and always inform the house of key steps the government was taking in every part of the region to address development issues and other concerns of the traditional authorities.
