Mkpurummiri: Declare war on hard drugs, distributors, sellers, Reps tell NDLEA
The House of Representatives has mandated the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, to go after peddlers of metampheramine, popularly known as Mkpuru-Mmiri in the South East, and other hard drugs in the country, with a view of stamping them out.
It also asked the agency to reintegrate and strategize further on its enforcement and its enlightenment capacity to cover the mode and cure for meth addiction, which it said, has no medical treatment at the moment.
The resolution followed a motion titled, “Urgent Ned to Sensitize Nigerians on the Danger of Widespread Meth Epidemic and Effect of Crystal Meth on the Nigerian Youth”, moved by Henry Nwawuba at plenary.
Presenting the motion, Nwawuba noted the widespread meth epidemic and the effect of crystal meth on Nigerians, especially the youths.
He also noted the highly addictive street form of the pharma grade amphetamine and the ill-equipped handling or stopping of the spread.
“Many homes in South East are currently facing the dangerous effect of Methampheramine, nicknamed Mkpuru-Mmiri, which translates to seed of water.
Crystal meth is a crystal narcotic hallucinogen that is capable of destroying a person mentally. An estimated 75 per cent of the users in our society are adversely affected and they have become a burden to their families and communities.
“Since 1990, the production of crystal meth has been hijacked by mexican drug dealers who set up laboratories in Nigeria for the production of Mkpuru-Mmiri in 2016.
“Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth or Mkpuru-Mmiri was developed in Japan in 1919 and grossly abused during the world war II when it was issued to pilots on suicidal mission, then called kamikaze.
“After the world war, it was used briefly as a medication for depression and for controlling obesity, but it was quickly abandoned and banned thereafter, especially in the 1970s.
“As a stimulant, it has a powerful euphoric effect similar to those of cocaine, Meth typically keeps users awake, depriving them of sleep, making them react violently and takes a toll on the physical look of the users”.
Contributing to the motion, the deputy minority leader, Toby Okechukwu, asked NDLEA to trace the manufacturers and others in the chain.
