The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) is on a vigorous operation to flush out marijuana smokers in the area, whiles offering assistance to them, especially the younger ones.
A combined team of military and police led by the the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Iddrisu Musah Superior on Monday stormed some forest reserves in the metropolis to smoke out suspected marijuana smokers.
The move forms part of the assembly’s agenda to ensure that social vices are reduced in the Tamale Metropolis which is one of the hotspots in the Northern Region.
Iddrisu Musah Superior at press briefing declared zero tolerance for marijuana smoking, commercial sex trade, and open defecation among other social vices.
“It is against the law to smoke marijuana, and as a responsible lead officer of the metropolis, I have a responsibility to mobilize the rest of the metropolis to defeat this especially when we have the younger children engaging in it. Children between the ages of 14 and 17 are engaging in the use of marijuana and they are basically housed in the forest reserves.”
“We are not arresting them, but to remove them from danger, rehabilitate and support some of them to go back to school.”
He said chiefs, opinion leaders and the clergy in the metropolis, are strongly behind the operation of the combined team of law enforcement agencies in collaboration with the Assembly’s Task-Force.
He served notice that the Assembly will no longer tolerate the smoking of marijuana in the open by October 31, 2017.
“So from the 31st of October, we are asking every ‘wee’ smoking gang within the metropolis to stop otherwise we will come heavily after you, you will be prosecuted or issued a heavy fine.”
Musah Superior also warned that, “Sex trade is illegal, and we don’t want it in Tamale. I will come heavily on people who are engaged in sex trade and people who are engaging people to do sex trade.”
He implored the clergy to condemn such social vices in the Mosques and Churches.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana