It’s scary the kinds of things happening in our society today. It is becoming more and more obvious that people cannot cope with the normal stresses of life. Parents are killing children; children are killing parents, siblings, friends etc.; husbands and wives are killing each other; motorists are driving carelessly, disregarding motor traffic rules; the list goes on and on.

We must have a mental health crisis on our hands. People are going beyond the normal stress levels and reacting in ways that are unacceptable in normal life. Coupled with peer pressure, this is driving people into indulging in hard drugs such as cocaine, marijuana and the like. It is even getting more scary now with the abuse of Tramadol which is being sold for as low as GHC 1.00.

Tramadol is a synthetic opioid analgesic/pain killer and comes mainly in the form of a tablet. It is also available in syrups, liquids, capsules, drops and suppositories. It is a prescribed drug to relieve intense pain in cancer patients, people who have undergone some surgeries, sickle cell patients and the like.

Delivering a lecture at the Accra College of Medicine, Dr Yao Mfodwo, a Consultant Psychiatrist and CEO of The Brain Clinic, noted that the drug impacts on the reward and pleasure centres of the brain giving the abuser, a sense of floating and being out of this world.

People have reported that the drug gives them a sense of extra strength and they are able to do their menial jobs without feeling any pain or tiredness. For some, it makes them go longer and perform better during sexual intercourse.

Dr Mfodwo noted that the brain, heart and lungs have opioid receptors and anyone who takes it will be detached from the pain being felt. He said that the drug also reduces the heart and breathing rates, lowers blood pressure and body temperature as well.

Certainly, this is a drug that must be prescribed by a doctor and the patient monitored from time to time.

Withdrawal symptoms will show the reverse.  Dr Mfowdo stated that it is increasingly becoming necessary to probe patients further when they present at the hospitals with fever, excessive sweating and yawning, high temperature and blood pressure as these could be withdrawal symptoms from tramadol abuse. He said that some people could also experience muscle aches, seizures, fits and hallucinations.

Dr Mfodwo explained that later withdrawal symptoms include nausea and vomitting, stomach aches, diarrhoea, depression and a craving for the drug. He said that the cravings draw people back to the drug and that is how they get addicted.

He said the dosage that is usually prescribed is the 50 or the 100 grams for extreme cases of pain. However, tramadol being sold illegally over the counter comes in dosages of 125, 225 and 250 grams.

According to him, a research carried out indicated that some people consume 4 tablets of the drug commonly referred to as Tramor or Tramol, daily to combat pain.  Others go to the extent of mixing the drug with alcohol, herbal preparations, energy drinks and cough mixture making it more lethal and dangerous.

Dr Mfodwo warned that the abuse of the drug has reached alarming proportions and needed drastic measures by law enforcement agencies to curb the menace. He said that the drug was not an “over the counter” drug and should not be sold by licensed chemical sellers, adding that in some communities, the drug is sold openly on streets.

He blamed the poor regulatory environment and enforcement of laws and especially in this case, Pharmacy laws on the current predicament that we find ourselves in.  He said that the use of drugs such as Tramadol, needed to be strictly guarded by health experts but this was not the case in our situation.

He said that treatment would include medical detoxification over 3 – 7 days where the person’s vitals are closely monitored. He added that there was poor support for mental health in this country and this also compounded the problem of managing and treating drug addicts.

Dr Yao Mfodwo also pointed out that a lot of people got hooked onto the drug out of ignorance and called for a lot of education to sensitise the citizenry on the dire consequences of abuse of the drug.

He called on government to provide funding and handle the menace as a public mental health crisis. He also called for collaboration between public sector organizations and professional bodies such as the registered nurses and midwives associations to help in curbing the menace.

He proposed that people selling the drug on the streets should be arrested and health professionals who broke the law should have their licences withdrawn.

He suggeted the setting up of treatment/detox centres in all regional and district hospitals and a sustained media awareness campaign to arrest the abuse.